Outdoor Leaks

​Share this page​

Leaks can be a real drain on your business

Outdoor leaks might be hidden from view — water seeping into the ground from a sprinkler line is less obvious than an overflowing toilet. So an important and low-cost first step is to have regular inspections of your landscape. To identify hard to find leaks, you should plan to shut down all facilities and equipment that use water from time to time and check the water meter before and after. For some equipment such as cooling systems, it is possible for leaks to occur both indoors and outdoors.

Exterior pipes connected to a submeter.Sub-metering

If you separately meter outdoor water use, you can check for leaks by shutting off all outdoor systems (with little inconvenience to customers and clients). You'll know you have an outdoor leak if the meter runs when all water-using systems are off.

Depending upon the size of your establishment you could also consider sub-meters (point-of-use meters) for all major water users such as pools, sprinkler systems, fountains, indoor fixtures, and large cooling or heating equipment. You'll know quickly when and where you have a leak.

Leak detection

For leaks that may be buried underground, leak detection specialists use techniques such as echo correlation to find them. Consider hiring a specialist if you suspect a hidden outdoor leak.

​​

Where can I find out more?