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How to Detect a Water Leak
Find Your Meter
Click here to go to "Where's my Meter." Your meter is typically located in a covered vault in the ground, near the street. Please compare the serial number to your billing statement to ensure you are viewing the correct meter, if you have multiple meters on your property.
Should you find water in your meter box, please contact the district by email at customer.service@covingtonwater.com or by phone at 253-631-0565.
Reading Your Water Meter
Reading your water meter is like reading the odometer of your car. Read all of the numbers from left to right that appear under the words “Cubic Feet.”
The first digit on the right represents one cubic foot. The second from the right represents 10 cubic feet. The third from the right (usually a different color) represents 100 cubic feet (one CCF), or 748 gallons. One revolution of the meter sweep hand equals one cubic foot, or 7.48 gallons.
Locate the blue pin-wheel shaped low flow indicator to the left of the dial. If you see this moving when all of your water is turned off, you may have a leak.
Reading your meter yourself can help you monitor your water use, check for suspected leaks, or experiment with efficient landscape watering.
How to Turn On/Off Your Meter
Most of our meters only require a quarter to half turn to change the position from on to off or vice versa. If you experience difficulty turning the meter to the desired position, please stop and call us. You can damage the meter by forcefully turning it past the on or off positions. You will need a crescent wrench or meter wrench to change the meters position.
What is 24/7 Movement?
24/7 movement is a water loss prevention detection alarm on your meter. It has specific criteria to trigger it and means, at minimum, that water was continuously flowing through your meter for 24-hours a day for seven consecutive days. There are several reasons that this could have been triggered, for instance, a short-term special purpose use, a dripping faucet, a worn toilet flapper, a hose accidentally left running, a leak you may or may not know about, or some other use you anticipated. Even a small amount of water can trigger this detection s while your consumption and bill amount may or may not be higher than usual at this time, the report indicates you have had continuous water use.
There are a few methods for investigating possible leaks within your home or on your property. Some toilet leaks are intermittent, so you don't always see or hear the water running. To check for a faulty toilet, try dropping food coloring in your toilet water tank and letting it sit for 10 minutes without flushing. If the water in the bowl changes color, you may have a leak in your toilet.
Visibly check all faucets inside and outside the home for signs of leaks. Remove hoses from hose bibs to make sure there are no leaks at the outside faucet. Remember to check any irrigation systems you may have on the property. If you still haven't located a leak, now might be the time to contact a family friend or a plumber for further assistance.
Check for Water Loss
Follow the below steps to determine if you are experiencing water loss:
- Don't use any water. Turn off all faucets inside and outside and don't run any water-using appliances (such as a dishwasher).
- Find your water meter and lift the cover to view the meter dial.
- Note the position of the red sweep hand and small blue low flow indicator.
- You may see movement immediately if you have a large amount of water loss. If you see movement, that means that something (possibly a leak) is still drawing water. If movement is not immediately apparent, you might have a slower leak in which case take a picture of the meter read or note the numbers.
- Wait at least an hour. Compare the previous read to the current read or check the position of the red sweep hand and small blue low flow indicator. If it has moved, you may have water loss occurring in your system. Each complete revolution of the red sweep hand equals 7.48 gallons of water use.
- If your meter has a low flow indicator and you notice movement while your water is off, then you likely have water loss.
- If you have noted any increase in your meter reading, it is now time to check for areas of probable water loss.
Water Leak Adjustment Process
If a water leak occurs on your side of the meter, you are responsible for the repair as well as the associated water use charges.
If a severe water leak of over 25 CCF's consumed above regular use from the prior year results in a dramatic increase in your water utility bill, please contact Covington Water District Customer Service to review your eligibility for an adjustment to your affected water bill.
Once a leak has been repaired, and no movement on the meter has been verified, the legal owner may complete a water leak adjustment form. The form must be completed within two billing cycles (120 days) of the date of the district’s billing statement associated with a leak or high consumption notice. A leak adjustment credit can only be offered once every five years, unless the entire service line is replaced.
Click here to complete the Leak Adjustment Form online and submit it to the district.
If you would prefer to download and print a PDF version of this form, click here.
Once we have received the form, it will go through a review process to ensure our criteria has been met:
- There is no movement on the meter
- A leak was found and repaired
- Receipts for parts or invoices are provided
- The water consumption during the time of the leak is significantly higher than the previous years consumption
During this time, your account will be on exempt from late charges or disconnection. You are not required to pay the balance in full, however, we recommend an average payment to be made on the account. Once a determination has been made, we will notify you at the email address provided on the form.
Utility Assistance
Find resources available in the community to assist with paying your utility bill on our Social Services List pdf.
Please contact the district by email at customer.service@covingtonwater.com or by phone at 253-631-0565 if you have questions.