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Water Leak Detection

Water Leak Detection · Guide 3 of 6

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Whose pipe is it?

For most of the utilities quoted here, the water meter is the dividing point: the utility looks after its main and the pipe up to the meter, and the property owner looks after every pipe and fitting from the meter to the house. The exact line differs by utility, so the table below quotes each one in its own words.

General information, not plumbing or legal advice. Your water utility’s own page or customer contract sets out where its responsibility ends; each one quoted here is linked.

The line

The meter as the dividing point

The usual dividing line at the water meter A pipe runs from the water main under the street, across the property boundary to a water meter, and on to a house. The main and the pipe up to the meter are marked as the utility’s side. The pipes from the meter to the house, including a garden tap, are marked as the owner’s side. BOUNDARY STREET main meter garden tap house UTILITY’S SIDE OWNER’S SIDE
Drawn for this guide, not to scale: the pattern South East Water describes, with the owner responsible for the pipes from the meter to the house, garden tap included. Other utilities draw the line a little differently; see the table.
Utility by utility

Where each utility draws it

Each utility’s description of its side and the owner’s side, from its own leak pages. A selection of eight utilities; your customer contract has the full terms.
UtilityThe utility’s sideThe owner’s side
Sydney WaterOwns and maintains the meter, and often fixes, free of charge, the service between its main and the meter, as far as one metre inside the property boundary. All the pipes and fittings on the property that connect to Sydney Water’s network. Leaks at the meter tap are the owner’s responsibility, though Sydney Water says it will fix a meter tap for free within 10 working days.
Hunter WaterMay maintain and repair the pipes from its main, typically in the street, to and including the meter, where the meter frame is no more than one metre inside the boundary. The pipes from the meter to the home. Hunter Water also lists cases it won’t repair, such as main-to-meter services larger than 40mm in diameter, meters without 15 cm of clearance around them, and services connected to privately owned mains.
South East WaterLeaks on its side of the meter, which it asks customers to report. In unit blocks with check meters, it looks after only the physical meter. The pipes from the meter to the house, including the garden tap. In unit blocks, the pipes and stop taps on check-meter networks: the owners corporation is the place to start.
UnitywaterIts own infrastructure. Soggy ground around a meter that isn’t ticking over is likely a leak on Unitywater’s side (see below). All water pipes and fittings from the meter onto the private property, and every leak on private property, concealed ones included.
Water CorporationFor a single detached property, anything between the “plumbers elbow” at the meter and the roadside. Anything between the plumbers elbow and the property. With a submeter in a shared building, the line moves: see Water Corporation’s meter diagrams.
SA WaterAny leaks between the water main and the meter. The meter remains SA Water’s property, and only its authorised personnel may inspect, repair or replace it. Leaks on the property or in its plumbing, which SA Water recommends having a licensed plumber locate and repair.
TasWaterThe pipes from its main to the connection point, which is the meter or the first valve closest to the property boundary. Leaks between the connection point and the home.
Icon WaterIts own network, which Icon Water says plumbers are not authorised to work on. All the pipes and fittings from the meter, whatever the size of the property, including responsibility for water lost from them.
At the meter

A leak at the meter itself: Unitywater’s three cases

A wet patch right beside the meter could be on either side of the line. Unitywater gives a simple way to tell, by watching whether the meter is recording the flow:

  1. The meter box is full of water

    Unitywater asks you to phone it.

  2. Soggy ground around the meter, and the meter is not ticking over

    The leak is likely on Unitywater’s infrastructure, and it asks to be told.

  3. Soggy ground around the meter, and the meter is ticking over

    Water is being drawn through the meter, so the leak is on your side, and Unitywater suggests a local licensed plumber.

Water Corporation · safety first

For a leaking meter, Water Corporation’s first step is to check the area is safe. Large pools of water, sunken lawn or cracked and uneven paving could be signs of a sinkhole or a submerged area, where someone could trip and fall. If water is leaking on or towards a power dome, it says to stay clear and call Western Power on 13 13 51 to let it know; and, because of the risk of electric shock, not to turn off the meter’s valve or touch the meter or its pipework at all until help arrives.

Owners and tenants

If you rent, or live in a unit

Hunter Water’s advice to tenants is to contact the agent or property owner immediately and encourage them to repair the leak quickly, because a tenant may be responsible for usage charges.

In shared buildings, responsibility depends on the meter arrangement. South East Water points owners in unit blocks with check meters to the owners corporation, and Icon Water applies its leak adjustment to unit title plans according to whether the leak was on common property or in a unit holder’s own pipework.

Who works where

What three utilities say about work on their side

Some utilities limit who may work on their side of the line. Icon Water says plumbers are not authorised to work on its network, and that if a fault is confirmed to be on its network, you can submit your plumber’s invoice for it to consider reimbursing. TasWater says a plumber may not work on its infrastructure without its permission first, and that it won’t accept charges for unauthorised repairs. SA Water says only its authorised personnel may inspect, maintain, repair or replace its meters.

Sydney Water adds a caution of its own: if you damage the water system, you pay for the repairs. On your own side, the next question is who may do the repair.