How do I know if I have a leak?

Use your water meter to check for leaks.  Start by making sure that all water – using appliances are not in use, including automatic ice-makers.  If your meter has a low flow indicator (see water meters), it should not be turning.  If it is, water is passing through the meter and there is a leak.  Otherwise, note the meter reading on the dial and then check again after an hour.  If the meter has moved, then you have some leaks.

Toilet leaks are hard to find.  They are normally caused by a bad flapper valve, flapper valve seat, a bad ballcock valve, an improperly positioned float arm or defective overflow tube(A toilet leak may only cause the low flow indicator or meter to move intermittently as the water leaks the water level in the tank slowly goes down before re-filling).  If you suspect a leak watch the low flow indicator for several minutes.

We have leak tablets available at the City Clerk’s office to help residents check for toilet leaks, or a few drops of blue food coloring will do the same thing.  A more detailed explanation can be found at the Leak Facts page.