Don’t freak if there’s a leak

When a pipe bursts in your property or a toilet springs a sneaky leak, you may not notice it. However, it can add units to your meter.

Our Consumption Review Team are here to help. We read your meter every six months and compare your consumption with the previous six-meter readings.

We use these readings to determine how much water you use daily and call this your daily average.

If your reading comes back notably higher or lower than your average usage, our Consumption Review Team will be notified and will contact you to discuss if there is a reason for the change in consumption.

If there is no reason for the change, we will begin an investigation to determine the cause.

The investigation will begin with taking your reading again, to check that the original reading was taken correctly, this process can take up to 14 working days and can be resolved much faster if you can provide a reading yourself.

If your reading comes back as correct, we will then check for a leak on our equipment and in some cases, investigate your pipework to check for a leak.

What to do if you notice your reading is high

There are rare times when your meter may have been misread. You can check the reading on your meter by using a flat-ended object to prise open the meter cover like a paint tin lid.

Your meter will be about arm's length in the ground, so you may need a torch to see the numbers.

Most meters are usually located underneath a cover on the footpath or road outside your home but sometimes can be in your driveway, garden, or a bit further down the road. Care must be taken when looking at your meter, for your safety and not to create a hazard.

If the meter reading is incorrect - we urge you to contact us.

If the reading is correct – there are a few steps to check if there is a leak somewhere.

Take the current reading, then do not use any water for 30 minutes, including water-using appliances in the house. Take another reading, if the meter has changed, then there is a leak.

How to find out where a leak is

To find out if the leak is inside the home or not, follow these steps:

• Turn off the internal stop tap – usually located in a kitchen cupboard or downstairs bathroom.

• To check that the water has been turned off, open the kitchen tap. If there is no water coming out, the water is off. There may be some residual water left in the tap, but if it runs dry after a few minutes, the water is off.

Wait 1 hour, then take a new meter reading. If there is no change in the reading, it indicates the water is escaping internally.

If the reading does change, it suggests there could be a leak on the supply pipe (the pipe that takes the water from the meter and into your home.

As any internal leaks or leaks on the supply pipe are your responsibility, you will need to contact a plumber. Find an accredited plumber here.

What happens next?

If you find and fix a leak within your property boundary within 30 days, and have a water meter, you may qualify for a leak allowance.

A leak allowance is where we use your daily average to calculate how much water was lost and take on the cost of the water lost in the leak for you.

To read more visit: https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/help/how-to/customer-side-leaks