Herndon VA possible water leak and Service line cost? (Fairfax: rental, insurance)

[sjankis630]

Hello,
I just got the quarterly water bill and it is 3+ times the normal amount. I have the water company coming out next week to check about a possible leak.
I can see/find no leaks in any toilets in the house. I even turned off one toilet in the basement months ago because it is never used.
I am starting to think that it is going to show a service line leak. When I spoke to the representative on the phone she told me that the guy will turn off the water to the house and check something on the meter called a leak detector and if that continues to show a flow then it means that there is a leak.
Is there some way for the guy to determine where in the house the leak is?
I am also trying to determine how much it costs - on average - to have a service line leak fixed.
I have seen people have their front yards dug up via backhoe and I am assuming that it is very expensive.
This is a 3 level townhome.
Any information would be welcome.
Thank you.

[ChristineVA]

My friend just had this service done yesterday and somehow they figured out pretty quickly that the leak was coming from the underground lawn sprinkler in the front yard. The water guy even was able to say fairly confidently that the leak seemed to be down close to the street. I don't know how they can tell, but they can.

[kww]

Most meters at the street will have a really small gauge that spins, even slightly if say a toilet has a leak. They'll look there first. Ahead of time, you can grab some dye packs from the hardware store that get dropped into the toilet tanks. 15 minutes later, if the dye is in the bowl, there's a leak at that toilet (flapper, etc).

Worth checking that now if you have the time and can find the dye packs. I just get a handful every time I meet a water utility person at a house to turn on the water in a vacant home

[Flamingo13]

You don't need a dye pack - a couple drops of food coloring works just fine.

[kww]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

You don't need a dye pack - a couple drops of food coloring works just fine.

Great idea

[car54]

I would think that a toilet leaking bad enough to triple the water bill would be obvious...you could hear it, or see the water in the bowl moving.

The problem is probably not IN the house, but rather from the main to the house. If the townhouse was built from about 1980-mid 90's, it might have a polybutylene water supply line. This cheap plastic crap is far more prone to failure than copper. I'd ask around to see if the neighbors have had problems...if they are poly lines, some surely have.

Plumbers usually charge by how long the line is and they are probably shorter in townhouse developments. There are other factors like if the water line runs under pavement or slabs. It can easily run a couple of thousand or more to replace. There are high-tech methods to replace the line without digging up the whole place, but these actually cost more. People go for it to avoid tearing up expensive landscaping.

You might get lucky though...a few years ago, I had to go to one of my rental properties and noticed a lush green patch of grass near the curbside water meter manhole. It was drought conditions and the rest of the grass was parched...I'm thinking uh oh. I pulled the manhole and sure enough, it was full of water. I called Fairfax Water and the first thing the guy said was, "If it's on our side of the meter, it's on us...if it's on your side, it's on you. (If the water bill goes up, it has to be on "your" side of the meter.) Anyway, all it was was a bad rubber washer on the pipe coming out of my side of the meter. The guy said, "that's nuthin, 5 minute job, I'll just replace the washer for you.". NICE GUY!

Probably too late, but Dominion Power offers insurance for water and sewer lines for a few bucks a month on your electric bill...but there must be exclusions for "pre existing conditions", I would think.

Good luck!

[sjankis630]

Well he came out and has decided that it it indeed a line leak between the meter and the house. I suspected as much as I have not seen/heard any leaks. I cannot for the life of me see any "bright spots" in the grass but it must be going down into the ground.
Can anyone recommend a good plumber - at least for a quote - in the Herndon/Fairfax area?
Thanks in advance.

[Hal Roach]

I'll bet there are a thousand Central Americans (within 3 miles) who could have the whole thing exposed in a day with a few shovels for 50 bucks each. It's not rocket science, and it's not even a sewer line. The "pros" will likely not even dig the old one up. The type of pipe is a big factor...but you could still run a new line with pvc.