Meter box to foundation
Water Line Leaks Between the Meter and Your Boise House
"I shut everything off and the meter still runs." When that's still true after the valve at the house is closed, the water is escaping somewhere in the buried line between the meter box and the foundation. That stretch is yours under Veolia's rules, and it's usually the hardest one to see.
Your call is handed to a Boise plumbing office, and the hand-off can leave a short silence. Leave the call open until a person comes on.
Signs the leak is outside, not in the house
The clearest sign is the meter still turning with the house shutoff closed. Others tend to show up around it: a strip of lawn that stays greener or softer than the rest, even in August; water pooling near the meter box or along the edge of the driveway; low pressure at every fixture at once; or a hiss you can hear when you lift the meter lid.
Worth ruling out first: an irrigation valve that didn't close, a hose bib on the outside wall, or a frost-free hydrant left cracked open. If you water from household supply, sprinkler line leaks can look a lot like this.
Which part is yours, and which is Veolia's
Veolia Water Idaho installs and maintains the line from the main up to and including the meter box. From the meter box to the building, its tariff says the line is the customer's to install and keep in repair, at the customer's expense, and that leaks on that side should be repaired promptly.
The curb stop in the meter box is Veolia's to operate except in an emergency, so close the shutoff at the house instead. If water is coming up on the street side of the meter box, that's a call to Veolia, not a plumber. More on this in who fixes the line from the meter.
The ten-minute test that splits house from yard
Shut everything that uses water
Fixtures, irrigation, the water softener and the ice maker.
Read the meter
Look for the small leak indicator, usually a triangle or star, and note the sweep hand.
Close the house shutoff
It's where the line enters the house: often a crawl space, basement or garage.
Watch for fifteen minutes
Still moving means the outside line. Stopped means the leak is inside the house.
The full version, with what to write down, is in the meter check.
How a buried line gets traced
First the line itself has to be found, and older Boise yards often have no record of where it runs. A locator can follow metal pipe or the tracer wire laid alongside plastic lines. Without either, the technician works from the meter to the house wall.
Then comes listening. A ground microphone walked along the route picks up the hiss where water is escaping. Plastic lines carry sound poorly, so a tracer gas test may be used instead: the line is drained, a light gas is pushed in, and a sniffer finds where it comes up through the soil. The result is a mark on the lawn or concrete.
Wet spot you can't trace?
Short pause, then a person.
Repair choices once it's marked
Spot repair. Dig at the mark, cut out the bad section and couple in new pipe. This works when the rest of the line is sound.
Replace the line. Common when the line is galvanized, has failed more than once, or old plastic has gone brittle. It can be trenched, or done trenchless by pipe bursting or directional boring, depending on the yard, trees and driveway.
Replacing a service line may need a City of Boise permit, and the company doing the work should know. "I've got to replace my line from the meter to the house" is one of the most common follow-ups callers have, so ask on the first call whether the company locates and repairs.
Boise yards make this harder
Mature trees on the Bench and in the North End root over old lines. Long driveways in West Boise subdivisions were often poured right over the service line. Water can also follow the loose fill of the old trench and surface some distance from the actual leak, which is why digging at the wettest spot is sometimes a miss. In winter, frozen ground slows any excavation.
Before you hire anyone
Ask how the locate is billed and whether it's credited toward the repair. Ask whether they handle the dig and the repair or only mark the spot. Look up their Idaho license through DOPL, ask for proof of insurance, and ask whether a permit is needed if the line is replaced.
Your call is handed to a Boise plumbing office, and the hand-off can leave a short silence. Leave the call open until a person comes on.
Questions about water line leaks
Will they have to dig up my whole yard?
Not usually. The point of locating is to mark one spot so the repair opens a small hole. If the whole line has to be replaced, ask about trenchless options.
Can the line be fixed in winter?
Often yes, though frozen ground slows the digging. Ask the company how they handle winter repairs.
My neighbor has the same problem. Is it the main?
It could be on Veolia's side. If water is coming up in the street or on the street side of the meter box, call Veolia.
Does homeowners insurance cover a broken water line?
Some policies add service line coverage and some don't. Call your insurer and ask before the repair if you can.
Related: high water bill checks · slab leaks · West Boise · Boise Bench · wet spot in the lawn