Leak Detection in West and Southwest Boise

Three questions West Boise callers ask

Is the leak in the house or the yard? Close the shutoff where the line enters the house and watch the meter. Still moving means the yard. The meter check

Why did my bill jump in summer? Usually irrigation, especially if the sprinklers run on household water. Check the meter overnight with the sprinklers off to rule out a leak.

Can a plastic line be found if nobody knows where it runs? Often, if a tracer wire was laid with it. Without one, the technician may use tracer gas, since plastic pipe carries sound poorly.

Subdivision homes from the 1970s on

These neighborhoods mix crawl-space homes with houses on slabs. Some homes built from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic supply pipe known for failing at its fittings. If you see gray plastic pipe at the water heater or under a sink, mention it on the call. Crawl space leaks · Wall and ceiling leaks

Plastic service lines: harder to hear, harder to find

Plastic lines don't carry the hiss of a leak the way copper does, so a ground microphone has less to work with. A tracer wire, if there is one, lets the line be followed. Where there isn't, tracer gas pushed through the drained line can show where it escapes. Water line leaks

Sprinklers on the household meter

Most older West Boise sprinkler systems water from the house supply, through the Veolia meter, so a broken lateral shows up on the bill. If you pay a separate irrigation charge, you're on pressure irrigation instead. The backflow device near the house is yours to maintain under Veolia's rules, and it's a common thing to crack in a freeze. Sprinkler line leaks · High water bill checks

More questions from West Boise

Nearby: Boise Bench. Northwest Boise (83714), Garden City and Meridian are not covered by this line.