I'll try to keep this as brief as possible while giving the events that lead to where I am today.

1 - had a smart meter installed late last year
2 - end of march got a notification saying I had a small (3gal/hr) leak. I turned sprinkler system off and that seemed to fix the problem.
3 - end of may (was out of town) got another notification saying the leak was back to the tune of 7gal/hr so I had my neighbor turn it off at the street.
4 - back in town and had a plumber out he said leak was probably under driveway (it has started to buckle and crack in a couple spots) but he also said that we should be able to see some water seeping out or extra tall grass on the edges..........there were neither of those things. He quoted me 6K to run a new water line under driveway and I about passed out. I was only home for a couple days so I was just rednecking it and turning the main on when I needed to shower/wash clothes.
5 - back in town to show my face in the office and I had forgot to turn the water off and get a notification stating the leak is now 35gal/hour and to this point it will have been on for about 24 hours before I will be able to get back. I am totally expecting to see some seeping on the driveway or wet spots on the edges......nothing!!
6 - I have called MUD and asked them to come check the meter to confirm its working properly and thats where I am now.


Any of you have something similar happen? Is there something that I am not considering? Any other advice or plumbers/concrete guys you can recommend?

Is the triangle spinning? Leaking toilet?

If there's a leak, then water will likely leak out of the system when the water is shut off and it's not pressurized. You could probably get a cheap hose bib pressure gauge and see how much pressure you lose over a day or so with the water shut off

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Is the triangle spinning? Leaking toilet?

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yeah meter is running and we know its not leaking anywhere inside the house b/c we turned that valve off too

great idea....will give that a shot

Watching for when your driveway is consumed by a massive sink hole, nightmare fuel-style

But in all seriousness, hope you figure it out and it doesn't cost 6k. yikes.

Pay now or pay much more later. Delaying a water issue causes nothing but future headaches. If you sell the home it could be a major issue if not addressed.

Contact DuWest Foundation and Plumbing these guys are straight shooters. They will find the problem (if there is one) and fix it properly. Kenny and Jim Dutton the owners are as honest as they come.

When was your house built. Lots of homes in Richmond area (Pecan Grove for example) used polypropyline house lines which were notorious for deteriorating and causing leaks.

Plus, who the hell runs a house line underneath a driveway?

Built in 2004 I believe.

Appreciate the advice….My pressure gauge was delivered today and as quick as I could shut the main off and walk over to the bib it had lost all pressure. I tried it again but this time shut the water off going into the house first and it held……thus confirming my leak is between the meter and valve going into the house.

Looks like I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow.

well I'm back again to pick some brains.....meter is reporting that I still have a 1.5gal/hour leak. This weekend I went through the same steps as before trying to find out where its leaking. When I shut the water off going into the house for a couple hours I would get the notification saying the leak had stopped. Problem is I cant find said leak in my house. I know for sure its not the toilets b/c I tried turning them off at night and that didnt fix the leak. If it is truly leaking that much and its coming from inside the house, wouldnt there be wet sheetrock and carpet showing by now?? The only 2 other appliances that I thought it could be is the water heater or ice machine but again there should be signs of a leak around the water heater or 200# of ice in my freezer wouldnt it? I am stumped to say the least.

PS - thought it could be sprinkler system as well, but have all those valves closed off so that rules that out.

my house is large enough that it has separate feeds each covering half the house. I had an in slab leak and I was able to isolate it to the hot loop in one half. You might try to turn off the valve at the heater (typically required) and see if that will help you determine if its hot or cold

thanks...will give it a shot

Did you re-test the incoming line? You could have a second crack.

yes sir. it appears everything from the street to the corner of the house is fine.