Water leak? But where is it?

Good point Pete - thanks!  Maybe a slip of the finger by the meter reader - if that's possible with Smart meters?  I'll get them to take a current reading anyway, before we go to Hidraqua.

Kind regards,

Kim

I know little about 'smart' water meters per se but I do know about electronics (telecommunications was my profession) so I do know all too well that things can go wrong and with results that are not necessarily obvious, i.e. false readings either high or low. 

Good old analogue meters work perfectly well and have served for many many decades but if they do go wrong then by virtue of their absolutely basic mechanical design the one thing they can never possibly do is register more water than has passed through them.

Sometimes the old ways really ARE the best and don't need 'improving' upon. 

So true - all these 'lifestyle' improvements are pitched to the consumer as convenient and cost saving.  But not that convenient when they're at the cost of jobs and any savings go only to the shareholders.  Or am I just having a cynical moment......? 😄

Kind regards, 

Kim

Kim - is there such a thing as a smart water meter? That would mean a power supply to the meter is needed.

If the bill shows the correct meter reading, then there is one test that can be done. Leave the stop-cock on the meter open, but close the stop-cock where the water enters the house, and see if the meter is recording usage. If so then a leak is confirmed.

A friend of ours had such a leak. The alkathene water pipe runs under their gravel driveway and had split. He had a trench dug and a whole new length of pipe laid, but ignored my advice to enclose it in high-impact plastic tubing to prevent it happening again.

Thx Jim.  It's good to know that water meters aren't "smart", as it means there's still a possibility of human error in recording the reading.  I asked my neighbours to take a reading yesterday  so that, as Pete suggested, we can compare it to the reading on their latest bill.

The thing that confuses me is that they say they checked the meter when no water was being used and it doesn't move - if there was a leak between the meter and the house supply, presumably the meter would still record that? 🤔

Thanks again.  I'll let you know the outcome.

Best wishes, 

Kim

Hello again,

Many thanks for your advice, Jim and Pete - we've established that there must be a leak and it has to be somewhere in the garden, not the house.  (Even isolating the supply to the house when they're not using water has resulted in the 'use' of 7 cubic meters of water in 7 days - ouch!)

The good news is that the lady we dealt with at Hidraqua's office in Almoradi was very helpful.  Once I'd explained (in Spanish) that my neighbours don't speak Spanish, she switched to pretty good English and we were able to establish, very quickly, what needed to be done next.  

My neighbours have to arrange for identification and repair of the leak (which I've suggested they do via their household insurance), then take a copy of the repair bill to the Hidraqua office.  The company that charges for water usage is different to the company that charges for sewerage, even though both amounts are included on the same bill - so the lady to whom we spoke said she will help my neighbours claim a discount from both companies. 

Thank you also to Juliette for the Leak-Tec.net recommendation - I've passed their contact details to my neighbours.

Kind regards,

Kim