Finding a Hidden Leak in Hendersonville, NC: A Meter Test You Can Do First

Check 1: watch the meter with everything off

The water meter is the most accurate leak detector you own. Turn off every faucet, the dishwasher, the washing machine, the ice maker and any irrigation, then look at the meter. Most residential meters have a small leak indicator, often a triangle or star, that spins when any water is flowing. If it moves with everything off, water is going somewhere.

For a slower leak, write down the full reading, leave the house unused for an hour or two, and read it again. Any change is unaccounted water. The City bills in hundreds of gallons, so the usage figure on your statement times 100 is the gallon count; the same conversion helps you compare your own readings with the bill.

Meter boxes are City equipment. If you cannot open the lid safely, or the meter is buried or damaged, the City's leak page lists (828) 697-3073 for emergency leaks, and the fee schedule lists a premise visit at $40.00.

Check 2: split the house from the yard

Once you know there is a leak, find out which side of the house it is on. Close your main shut-off valve inside the house and watch the meter again. If the indicator stops, the leak is inside. If it keeps moving, the leak is between the meter and the house, on the service line in the yard or under the slab where it enters.

That split matters for the City's leak adjustment as well as the repair. Underground service line leaks between the meter and the structure are on the policy's list of eligible non-preventable leaks, as are hidden failures inside walls, slabs or foundations.

Outside signs include a soft or always-wet patch of lawn along the line from the meter to the house, a sunken strip of soil, or a green stripe in a dry spell. Inside signs include warm spots on a slab floor, a musty crawlspace, or a water heater running when no one is using hot water.

Check 3: rule out the usual fixtures

Toilets are the most common silent leak. Put a few drops of food colouring in the tank, wait fifteen minutes without flushing, and look at the bowl. Colour in the bowl means the flapper or valve seat is leaking. A toilet that refills by itself every so often is leaking the same way.

Check under every sink for damp cabinet floors, the supply hoses on the washing machine for bulges, the water heater's relief valve discharge pipe for drips, and outdoor spigots, especially frost-free ones that can crack inside the wall after a hard freeze and leak only when turned on.

Running toilets are listed in the City's 2026 policy as a hidden fixture failure that can qualify for an adjustment. A faucet or hose left on is not. Write down which fixture was at fault; the plumber's statement or your before photos will need to say so.

Check 4: when to bring in a plumber's equipment

If the leak is under a slab, inside a finished wall or somewhere along a long yard line, a plumber may use acoustic listening equipment, thermal imaging, line tracing or pressure testing to pinpoint it before cutting anything. Ask how they plan to locate the leak and whether location and repair are priced separately.

Ask also whether the repair will reroute a line rather than open a slab. Henderson County's permit FAQ says a plumbing permit is required for any addition to or change in the design of plumbing, so a reroute may need one. The plumbing trade permit is $75.00 on the county's 2026-2027 fee schedule; see the permit checklist.

When the job is done, get the invoice and the written statement the City asks for, describing where the leak was. That paperwork turns a repair into a possible leak adjustment.

Check 5: suspect the meter last, but you can ask

Meters rarely over-read, but it happens. If the meter test shows no leak and the bill still looks wrong, the City's fee schedule lists a meter test at the customer's request for meters under 1 inch at $45.00, with no charge if the meter turns out to be faulty.

Before asking, rule out the obvious: a recent pool fill, a houseguest, an irrigation schedule that changed, or a water softener stuck in regeneration. The high water bill checklist walks through those.

If you want to watch usage between bills, the City's leak adjustments page invites customers to sign up for its Aquahawk monitoring service, which shows meter data online. Catching a leak in days rather than at the end of a billing cycle is the cheapest leak detection there is.

Check 6: keep a leak log

Write the date, the meter reading and what you tested each time. A simple log turns a vague worry into numbers a plumber, an insurer or the City's billing staff can use. If the City later reviews meter data to decide when a leak ended, your own readings help you check its conclusion.

Note the readings after the repair, too. The City says it has to verify the abnormal usage stopped before it processes an adjustment, so a clean reading a day or two after the fix is worth recording.

Checked against: City of Hendersonville, NC: Understanding Water Usage; City of Hendersonville, NC: Fee Schedule (water, sewer, meter, rebate and billing fees); City of Hendersonville, NC: Leak Adjustments; City of Hendersonville, NC: 2026 Leak Adjustment Policy (PDF); Henderson County, NC Permits & Inspections: Frequently-Asked Questions; Henderson County, NC Permits & Inspections: 2026-2027 Fee Schedule (PDF). Checked 2026-10-30.