How to find a water leak underground, between the meter and your house

By The Downspout · Posted Nov 6, 2026 · 6 min read

Start at your water meter. Turn off every tap and the sprinklers, then watch the meter's small star or triangle. If it spins, close your house's main shut-off valve. If it still spins, the leak is outside: in the buried pipe from the meter to the house, or in the sprinkler lines. Walk that path for a greener or soggy strip, and call 811 before anyone digs.

Listen to this article

Read aloud by an AI voice.

The bill jumped, or the little star on the water meter won't stop turning. Nothing in the house is dripping. So where is the water going?

Often, into the ground. A cracked pipe between the meter and the house, or a split sprinkler line, can run day and night where no one sees it. Below: how to narrow it down to one stretch of pipe in a few short checks, without a shovel, and who pays for the fix.

Why hunt for it now?

Because in some cities, winter water use sets your sewer charge. Healdsburg bases each home's sewer charge on its average water use from January through April.^[1] A leak in those months can cost you twice. Our guide to why your water bill is high shows how that works on a real bill.

Leaks are also common. About 9% of homes have leaks that waste 50 gallons or more a day.^[2] A hole in a sprinkler line 1/32 inch across, about the thickness of a dime, can waste about 6,300 gallons a month.^[2] That's about 8 extra billing units a month on a Healdsburg bill, which counts water in units of 748 gallons.^[3]

Step 1: Is anything leaking?

Your water meter answers that in about 10 minutes.

Find the meter. It usually sits in a concrete box near the curb, under a lid marked "WATER". Lift the lid with a large screwdriver or pliers, and check for stinging insects or other animals first.^[3]^[4] Leave the valve inside the meter box alone. It belongs to your water utility, and Healdsburg, for one, asks customers not to touch it.^[3] Your own valve is at the house (Step 2).
Stop all water use, inside and out. That includes the ice maker and the sprinklers.^[3]
Watch the leak indicator for about 10 minutes. Most meters have a small star, triangle or wheel, often red or blue, that spins whenever any water passes through.^[3]^[5]^[4] If it moves while everything is off, water is going somewhere. A digital meter may flash a leak message instead.^[4]
Check again later for a slow leak. The reading is the row of numbers on the meter's face: the total water that has passed through it, usually in cubic feet.^[4] Write it down, use no water for two hours, then read it again. Any change probably means a leak.^[2]

Some leaks come and go, like a toilet that refills now and then or a broken sprinkler head that only runs on a schedule.^[3] If the star is still but the bill is high, test again at a different time.

Ask your utility whether it sends leak alerts.^[6] In Petaluma, a free EyeOnWater account does, once you sign up and turn them on.^[7]

Step 2: Inside or outside?

Now find your home's main shut-off valve. It's usually where the water pipe enters the house, often near or under an outdoor faucet at the front.^[3]^[8] Close it and go back to the meter.

The star stops: the leak is past the house valve. That usually means inside the house, or in sprinklers fed from the house side.^[5] Start with the toilets: a few drops of food coloring in the tank show a leak if color reaches the bowl.^[2]
The star keeps spinning: the leak is outside, in the buried pipe between the meter and the house, or in sprinklers that branch off before the house valve.^[5]^[8]

Why "or sprinklers" both times? Our take: sprinkler pipes can branch off before or after the house valve, depending on how the house was plumbed. If your sprinkler system has its own shut-off valve, close it too and watch the star again. That tells you whether the sprinklers are the leak.

Look for the two outside paths in this drawing:

Step 3: Walk the line

A buried leak usually leaves a clue on top. Walk from the meter toward the house valve, then past each sprinkler area, and look for these:

A strip that's greener or wetter than the ground around it, along the path from the meter to the house.^[3]
Soggy spots, puddles or broken heads in the sprinkler areas.^[3]
Water standing in a sprinkler valve box, the small boxes in the ground where those valves sit.^[3]
A hiss from the sprinkler system when it should be quiet.^[3]
Weak pressure. A gauge from the hardware store screws onto an outdoor faucet. Turn off all water, open the faucet fully and read the dial. Healthy pressure is 45 to 60 pounds per square inch. Well below 45 can mean a leak.^[6]

In sandy soil, a buried leak may not show a wet spot.^[3] Our tip: right after a storm every yard is soggy, so do this walk after a few dry days. A wet stripe that stays wet when the rest of the yard has dried out tells you more.

Before you dig

Found the spot? Don't grab a shovel yet. In California, anyone who digs, homeowners included, must contact 811 first. It's free.^[9]

Mark the spot in white with paint, flags or even flour, so the crews who mark utility lines know where you plan to dig.^[9]
Call 811, or file online with USA North 811, at least two working days ahead. Utilities then mark their gas, power, cable and water lines with paint or flags.^[9]
Know what won't be marked. Private lines, such as sprinkler pipes and power to a shed, aren't the utilities' to mark.^[9]
Use hand tools within 2 feet of any mark.^[9]
Hiring someone to dig? Your plumber files their own 811 ticket.^[9]

Who pays, and who can help?

In Healdsburg, the owner pays for any leak on private property, and a leak on public property goes to the city's utility hotline.^[1] Other utilities draw the line their own way, so ask yours. See water bubbling up at the meter box or in the street? Call your water utility.

For a leak you can't pin down, call a plumber.^[8] Our guide to finding a licensed water pro explains which license covers which pipe.
For the sprinklers, an irrigation pro.^[3]
For a free visit, ask your utility. Petaluma, for one, offers free Water-Wise HouseCalls at (707) 778-4507.^[8]

Then ask for a leak adjustment, a credit for some of the water you lost. Healdsburg and Rohnert Park both offer them once a leak is fixed.^[1]^[5] In Healdsburg:^[1]

Your use must be well above the same months last year.
The leak can't come from neglect.
Fix it promptly, keep proof, and describe the leak in writing.
Ask within six months. The credit covers up to two bills, sewer included, once per calendar year.

Other cities set their own rules, so ask yours.

Our take: keep the plumber's receipt and take photos of the leak before it's covered up. That's the kind of proof Healdsburg asks for.

What it means for you

This week, turn everything off and watch the star on your meter for 10 minutes.
If it spins with the house valve closed, walk the line after a few dry days, then call 811 before anyone digs.
Once it's fixed, ask your utility for a leak adjustment. If you need help, see how to find a licensed water pro.

When the star on the meter holds still, so does your bill.