Yard line vs slab leak testing: what to know in Arizona
A typical Arizona yard has buried drip tubing, emitters, valves and a service line that can run a long way under gravel and pavers. A split in any of these loses water and shows up on the meter.
A slab leak is under the house. The two can be told apart with a couple of checks, and a technician can confirm with testing.
Slab leak signs people notice
Tell the dispatcher the year the home was built and whether there is a pool.
Speak With Someone LocalWhy Arizona homes get slab leaks
Drip systems run on timers, often before dawn, so a split can run unseen for weeks. Yard service lines in the Valley are often longer than in older cities, and the soil moves with heat and moisture.
Anything along that line is the homeowner's to maintain in most cases, and it will move the meter the same way a leak under the floor does.
What you can safely do
Watch the meter with the house quiet. Switch the irrigation controller off at its panel and watch again. If the movement stops, the drip system or its feed is likely the source.
Do not open valve boxes, dig or adjust the irrigation. If the meter keeps moving, call.
What a leak detection technician does
The technician isolates the service line between the meter and the house and tests it. A loss on that stretch is in the yard. If it holds pressure, the loss is inside, and the hot and cold lines are tested in turn.
If the leak is in the yard or irrigation, you will be told. That repair belongs to a landscape or plumbing contractor.
The contractor gives you a quote, and nothing starts until you agree to it.
Need a Leak Located? Call UsYard lines, drip systems and the meter, step by step
Most Arizona yards run on a timer. Drip lines, spray heads and a small controller on the garage wall put water into the landscape several times a week, and the meter does not care where the water goes. A bill that rises after a landscape change, a new plant bed or a broken emitter can look like a leak under the house when none exists.
The first check is the one a homeowner can do safely: switch the controller to off at its own panel, wait a few minutes and look at the meter again. If the movement stops, the water was going to the landscape. If it keeps moving, the irrigation was not the main source and the next step is further along the line.
Drip systems are easy to misread. A line chewed by an animal, a pulled emitter or a cracked fitting under mulch can lose water quietly for weeks with no puddle, because the ground takes it in. These leaks are in the landscape, not under the slab, and a landscape contractor is the right call for them.
Yard service lines are the other common confusion. On a long lot, the pipe from the meter to the house can run a long way under gravel, pavers and plants. A leak there makes the meter move with everything off, and it can look just like a slab leak. The technician tests that run separately before anyone talks about the floor.
A wet or soft patch outside, sunken pavers, or a patch of the yard that is always greener than the rest can all point to an outdoor line. Do not dig to look. Note where it is, photograph it and mention it on the call.
What you are not asked to do is open valve boxes, adjust sprinkler heads or work on the system in any way. Shutting off the controller and watching the meter is the whole of the homeowner side.
Signs in the yard
Ground that stays wet, a patch of plants that is greener than the rest, a sunken area or water pooling near a valve box can all point to a yard line or irrigation leak.
These leaks move the meter just like a slab leak. The irrigation check separates them: switch the controller off and read the meter again.
If the meter stops, the irrigation system is the likely source. If it keeps moving, the service line between the meter and the house or a line under the slab is the next suspect.
Leave valve boxes closed. The homeowner check is the controller only.
When the service line is the problem
The service line runs from the meter to the house. On large lots it can be long. A leak in it moves the meter whether or not anything in the house is on.
The technician isolates the house from the service line to tell the two apart.
Repair options for a service line differ from slab options. The technician explains what access would involve.
We do not repair irrigation systems. If the leak is in the irrigation, the technician tells you so.
Large lots and long service lines
On large lots, the service line from the meter to the house can run a long way, sometimes across a yard, under a driveway or past outbuildings. A leak anywhere along it moves the meter, even when nothing in the house is on.
The technician separates the service line from the house by closing the main at the house and reading the meter. If the meter keeps moving with the house closed off, the service line is losing water.
Locating a leak in a long service line uses the same tools as under a slab: pressure testing, listening and line tracing. Hard ground, landscaping and paving can make the opening slower.
Lines to detached garages, guest houses, barns or outdoor showers are also worth mentioning. Each is a branch that can leak, and the technician isolates them too.
Irrigation lines are separate from the service line. If the leak is in the irrigation, the technician tells you so. We do not repair irrigation systems.
Seasons and irrigation schedules
Irrigation schedules change with the seasons in most Arizona yards. A controller set to water more in summer can explain a bill that rises from spring into summer, with no leak at all.
If the bill rises outside the usual pattern, or stays high into the cooler months, the irrigation is still the first thing to check. A broken line or a stuck valve can lose water whatever the schedule says.
Switching the controller off at its panel for the meter check is the simplest way to take irrigation out of the picture. Pausing a single zone is not enough.
Remember to switch it back on after the check, or note that it is off so a crew member can do it after the visit.
If the meter stops when the controller is off, the irrigation is the likely source, and we do not repair irrigation systems.
Earlier leaks, where they were and what was done, help the technician plan.
Warm Tile Underfoot? Call NowQuestions about yard line and irrigation leaks
Do the contractors repair service lines?
The technician locates slab leaks. If the leak is in the yard line, you will be told and that work is separate.
How do I know my controller is off?
Use the off or rain setting on the panel. Do not open the boxes.
Could a drip split cause a high bill?
Yes, and it often does. Check with the controller off.
Is the service line mine?
Usually it runs from the meter to the house. Check your property documents, since where your side of the line begins can matter for who handles a repair.
Where is the irrigation controller?
Often on a garage wall or beside the house. It has a panel with an off setting. Turning it off for a few minutes is enough for this check.
Can a drip leak look like a slab leak?
Yes. Both move the meter. A drip leak shows up when the controller is on and stops when it is off.
Will you repair my irrigation?
No. This service is for leaks under the slab. A landscape contractor handles irrigation repairs.
Why is there no puddle if the line leaks?
Desert soil takes in a lot of water and mulch hides the surface. Many yard leaks never show at the top.
What if the controller is off and the meter still moves?
Then the irrigation is ruled out and the service line, the house lines and the slab come next. A technician can separate those by testing each line.