We had a water pipe repaired outside of our home a couple of years ago. Back in July of this year the water company put in new water meters, when we got our first bill it said we used 40,000 gallons of water in 2 days ( impossible, seems how this house is NOT occupied ) water company came out, checked, said we have a water leak on our side of the pipes.. my question is this... is it possible that when they put the new meter in and turned the pressure back on that they could have turned the valve to fast and caused our pipe to break?

Great advice from all, but the thing is, we had done everything you all suggested before I placed the first question... That's how we know we have a water leak... my thing is this, we didn't have any problems until the water company put in the "new" meter. We've been working with the water company for 5 months now, trying to get this resolved, after about 7 different people from the water company coming out and reading the meter and finally the last person that came out discovered the "new" meter actually had a number missing from it, which caused months of misreadings on it. They tell us that they have replaced the "new" meter with another one.. But their also saying that the first "new" meter detected a leak that the old meter wasn't detecting, is this possible?? Problem is that they still say we have a water leak. So we paid $275.00 for a water leak detection company to come out and they confirmed we DO have a leak. What I need to know is this:
Is it possible that when the "new" meter was put in, that the technician could have turned the meter on to fast and caused the pipe to rupture once again? Please keep in mind that when he or she put the first "new" meter in that they Didn't even notice that one of the numbers was missing... by missing number I mean this... a water meter has 7 readable numbers the last three numbers are in black, that's where our readings come from.. the last ( black ) number was missing. I very much appreciate the help from this site, but I REALLY need an answer to the question as we are seekin legal help.

40,000 gallons of water is a lot of water to get away in two days. Did you have puddles of water standing around in the yard or in the house? Did you check to see if a commode was running constantly?
To check for a leak make sure that all of your faucets, commodes, water softeners, and any other thing connected to water is turned off, then go to the water meter and watch the hands to see if they are moving, most meters have a small wheel that will spin if water is going through the meter. If it is still then you do not have a leak. And I would discuss it with the city or water department.

40,000 gallons is about 8 tanker trucks.


we had a water pipe repaired outside of our home a couple of years ago. back in july of this year the water company put in new water meters, when we got our first bill it said we used 40,000 gallons of water in 2 days ( impossible, seems how this house is NOT occupied ) water company came out, checked, said we have a water leak on our side of the pipes.. my question is this... is it possible that when they put the new meter in and turned the pressure back on that they could have turned the valve to fast and caused our pipe to break?

40,000 gallons of water in just two days would create an immediately noticeable geyser, sink hole or washed out area somewhere on your property.

Try LT's suggestion vis a vis shutting everything in the house off and then watching the telltale spinner at the meter -- If there is movement, then you definitely have a leak.

Personally, if there isn't any obvious evidence of the passage of 40,000 gallons of water inside, below or around your house, I'd lean towards a defective meter.

If you didn't have a leak before the meter was installed it could very well be that a faulty meter was installed. LetmetellU gave you excellent advice on how to check for a leak. Make the check and if you can't find a leak in the system then challenge the bill and demand a replacement meter be installed.
I had the same thing happen to me. They changed my meter and adjusted the water bill. Good luck and let me know. Tom

Great advice from all, but the thing is, we had done everything you all suggested before I placed the first question... That's how we know we have a water leak... my thing is this, we didn't have any problems until the water company put in the "new" meter. We've been working with the water company for 5 months now, trying to get this resolved, after about 7 different people from the water company coming out and reading the meter and finally the last person that came out discovered the "new" meter actually had a number missing from it, which caused months of misreadings on it. They tell us that they have replaced the "new" meter with another one.. But their also saying that the first "new" meter detected a leak that the old meter wasn't detecting, is this possible?? Problem is that they still say we have a water leak. So we paid $275.00 for a water leak detection company to come out and they confirmed we DO have a leak. What I need to know is this:
Is it possible that when the "new" meter was put in, that the technician could have turned the meter on to fast and caused the pipe to rupture once again? Please keep in mind that when he or she put the first "new" meter in that they Didn't even notice that one of the numbers was missing... by missing number I mean this... a water meter has 7 readable numbers the last three numbers are in black, that's where our readings come from.. the last ( black ) number was missing. I very much appreciate the help from this site, but I REALLY need an answer to the question as we are seekin legal help.

we paid $275.00 for a water leak detection company to come out and they confirmed we DO have a leak.
In our area the detection company locates the leak and digs it up for the plumber to repair. I see no mention of a repair or even a explanation of where the leak was and how much water was lost. Your leak should have been repaired when detected. Was it?

Is it possible that when the "new" meter was put in, that the technician could have turned the meter on to fast and caused the pipe to rupture once again?
Once again? The supply line has burst twice? I need to know what the street pressure is. Do you have a pressure reducing valve installed next to where the water enters your home?
I hope you got a kickback from the water company or at least a accounting of the inflated water bills caused by the incompetence of the workers in not noticing that a faulty meter was installed on your water service. I really need to know what the street pressure is before I can complete my answer. Call the water company and ask.

Regards, Tom

Is it possible that when the "new" meter was put in, that the technician could have turned the meter on to fast and caused the pipe to rupture once again?

I suppose it's possible the sudden burst re-ruptured the original repair.

Then again, it is the homeowners responsibility to maintain their waterline, and part of that maintenance is assuring it can handle the normal operating pressure of the water as delivered by the utility.

When installing a new waterline that is to be inspected, we must either have it connected to the meter and under full operating pressure, or we must install a pressure gauge and pump it up with compressed air to full operating pressure.

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that if your waterline was properly repaired and maintained, then it should have been able to withstand the shock of the meter being turned on quickly.

Years ago, my gas company replaced our meter and the next month sent us a bill for the difference between the last reading of the old meter and the first reading of the new one. It actually only took one phone call to straighten it out. It sounds like they are trying to use a minor leak to cover their mistake.

In our area the detection company locates the leak and digs it up for the plumber to repair. I see no mention of a repair or even a explanation of where the leak was and how much water was lost. Your leak should have been repaired when detected. Was it??

Once again?? The supply line has burst twice?? I need to know what the street pressure is. Do you have a pressure reducing valve installed next to where the water enters your home?
I hope you got a kickback from the water company or at least a accounting of the inflated water bills caused by the incompetence of the workers in not noticing that a faulty meter was installed on your water service. I really need to know what the street pressure is before I can complete my answer. Call the water company and ask.

Regards, Tom

I called the water company just now, she said their pressure is 40-60..
No they did not dig up anything, they just tested for a leak. We have to pay A lot more if we want them to dig up for them or a plumber to repair... the leak we had a few years ago is right up next to the house, the detection is supposively in the same area ( within 3 feet ) I don't know if we have a pressure reducing valve installed or not.. sorry. Let me tell you what they did.. we inherited this house, it has been empty since 3/07.. so now the water bill for that house is in our name, so what they did was take the billing from the empty house and added to the billing on our house, ( which we all know why ) this way if we don't pay we lose our service. I need a definite answer to my question because what they are offering us it that they will send someone out ( at their expense ) to dig up BUT if they say the leak is our fault we have to pay EVERYTHING.. We honestly feel that the technician caused the leak. We have gotten an adjustment but ONLY because the meter was being read wrong. That doesn't fix the leak, we DO NOT want to pay ( from what were told anywhere from $700.00-2500.00) to fix this leak if we can somehow prove their the ones that caused it.. and no, there are no sings of a leak as far as the ground being wet or soppy, other than when we turn the meter back on and put our ear on the hot water tank line you can hear a leak. I hope this helps, were getting desperate here as were losing money by not being able to rent this house out.

I suppose it's possible the sudden burst re-ruptured the original repair.

Then again, it is the homeowners responsibility to maintain their waterline, and part of that maintenance is assuring it can handle the normal operating pressure of the water as delivered by the utility.

When installing a new waterline that is to be inspected, we must either have it connected to the meter and under full operating pressure, or we must install a pressure gauge and pump it up with compressed air to full operating pressure.

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that if your waterline was properly repaired and maintained, then it should have been able to withstand the shock of the meter being turned on quickly.
I understand what your saying, BUT what if the new leak isn't where the leak we had fixed a few years ago is?

I understand what your sayin, BUT what if the new leak isnt where the leak we had fixed a few years ago is?

Sorry, but if the leak is on your side of the meter, you bear full responsibility.

I've gone to bat a number of times over the years as the owners representative (a paid position, btw) in dealings with utility service providers -- And I've yet to see one homeowner prevail in cases where the sole argument is that the meter installer shocked the system by turning the meter on too quickly.

OTOH, I find the utilities claims regarding a missing digit on the meter to be highly suspect.

This, and not the bit about turning the meter on abruptly, might give an arbitrator pause if you take it to that level, in which case the arbitrator will likely reduce the amount the utility is trying to collect.

Insofar as repairs to your waterline are concerned, you are still responsible for the cost of all repairs -- And dragging it out further isn't going to go your way -- Trust me on this.

If the financial burden of hiring a contractor to do the repair from start to finish is too great, then consider hiring a day laborer to do the manual labor of excavation, or if you're able, do it yourself, and then hire a licensed Plumber to make the actual repair.

I'm sorry I can't be more upbeat about this, but I'm not exactly new to this scenario.