Water Leaks

Identifying water leaks at your property is a simple task that can greatly benefit you and the community.

For many properties, water leaks may not be obvious but can cause aesthetic damage or even compromise the structural integrity of the property. If your property’s water supply is metered, it may also result in high water-use charges. Community benefits include reducing demand on water supplies and treatment processes; overall creating savings and efficiencies.

If your property has a meter

Use this simple five-minute test:

  1. Check all taps are turned off and water-using appliances (dishwashers, washing machines, etc) are not operating.
  2. Locate the blue water meter lid on your boundary, lift it up and write down the time and reading on the meter inside.
  3. Sit down and relax for five minutes.
  4. Re-read your water meter, taking note of the reading and time again. If the numbers have changed then you might have a water leak and you may want to contact a plumber. If you are unsure, Council’s water services staff can come and double-check it for you.

In addition, look out for:

  • Wet areas or unexplained patches of green along the route from your toby to where the water pipe enters your house.
  • Obvious leaks from fittings and connections.
  • Dripping taps.
  • Leaky toilet cisterns – hissing, trickling or running sounds from the cistern may indicate a leak.

Watch our video

 

 

If your property doesn't have a meter

To check for signs of a water leak:

  1. Trace the route from your toby to where the pipe enters the house and check for wet areas or obvious leaks from fittings and connections.
  2. If you come across standing or running water and you are not sure if it is a leak, you can get a free test kit with instructions from Council’s main office in Levin. This is a simple test that requires a sample of water, the test kit sachet and a few minutes of time. If the water turns pink, then you have a water leak and you may want to contact a plumber.

Frequently asked questions

If you have an analogue water meter, we read your water meter every three months, so a leak can exist for some time before we can detect it and notify you. Therefore, it’s important to check your own property for leaks.

If your property has a water meter installed, we’ll notify you in a letter sent out with your water bill if we detect unusually high water usage that could indicate a leak. However, we can only detect unusually high usage on your third reading and after. This is because our system works by identifying outliers (readings higher than your usual usage). For this reason, our system doesn’t always pick up consistently high usage if you’ve had a leak since your meter was installed – we’re working on a solution for this to improve our services. 

We are replacing analogue water meters with new digital ones so we are able to detect leaks faster.  We will leave a letter in the mailbox of properties where leaks are detected.

 

Leaks on Private Property

If a water leak is on private property then it is the owner’s responsibility to repair. The owner needs to contact a plumber to undertake repairs as soon as possible. Owners must act to avoid water wastage. If the owner fails to action repair within a timely manner, Council may take further steps to ensure compliance. If a member of the public identifies a water leak on private property the Council will make contact with the owner as soon as possible.

Leaks on the Road Reserve/Berm

If the leak is at the toby (blue box or square metal box with hinged lid in the ground) and the road is not privately owned, then Council will undertake repairs.

If the road is private then the owner is responsible for these repairs/ replacements refer above. The owner can request Council to arrange Councils Contractor to undertake these repairs, however all costs will being on charged to the owner.

The only exception to this is, if the toby is located at the Council road frontage, then HDC may attend to the repair as necessary.

Contact the Customer Services team on (06) 366 0999 for further information.

Gushing Water, High Volumes?

Contact the Customer Services Team and report immediately. Council will contact their Contractor to urgently attend.

Fast flowing water/trickling water?

This could be a leaking lateral, contact the Customer Services Team to investigate urgently.

Please contact a Council Customer Service Representative on (06) 366 0999 or email us enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz. Council will investigate and taken action as necessary.

Please contact a Council Customer Service Representative on (06) 366 0999 or email us at enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz. Council will investigate and taken action as necessary.

Digital water meters are simple. There's no dial to interpret, and the display simply tells you how many litres of water you have used. The reading to the left of the decimal indicates how many units of water has been used, 1 unit is 1 cubic meter or 1,000 litres.

Water meter display

 

If a water leak is on private property then it is the owner's responsibility to repair. The owner needs to contact a plumber to undertake repairs.

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