Leaks are often the reason of unexplained increase in water consumption. The most common source of leaks is the toilet. A running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons of water in a single month, and often times are silent. Other sources of leaks include dripping faucets, a break in the service line between the meter and the residence, sprinkler systems, or automatic fill on the swimming pools. We would like to offer the following tips on how to identify if you have a leak, and encourage each customer to monitor their homes. Monitoring your home and service line will save water and save you money!

To help determine if you have a leaking toilet, simply remove the tank lid and place a few drops of food coloring, or a dye tablet, in the toilet tank.

Do not flush for at least one hour. If the coloring penetrates into the bowl, you have a leak. In most cases, this leak is easily repaired, by replacing the toilet flapper and/or filling mechanism.

Find your meter box, which is typically located in the front of the property near the street. Remove the lid off the meter box and lift the protective cover.

After locating the meter, take a reading on your meter, and also check to see if the leak indicator is turning. Depending on the brand of your water meter, the leak indicator could be a small triangular shaped dial or a small disc that rotates when water is flowing.

If the leak indicator is turning, you may have a leak. However, if the indicator does not move at the time you are taking the reading it does not verify that you don’t have a leak. A slow leak may not register with the indicator. Therefore, wait at least two hours without using water, and take another reading on the meter. If the numbers have changed, you are losing water, which indicates a possible leak.