I am remodeling a vacant house, I just purchased and the water utilities company came out to turn water meter on and discovered that my water meter is running like crazy. There is no water coming out of the faucets inside the house anywhere. The house has been vacant for one year. What do you think is causing this. Where could the leak be? Any help is appreciated.

Well, obviously there's a leak.

If you can't hear it in the house, and there's no water to be seen, then it must be between the house and the meter. Often, the ground will be very soggy/wet, and even have a "natural spring" coming up.

If it's been this way for a year, who knows what kind of erosion-path the water may have taken, but it's probably going into the nearest storm sewer somehow. If it's been shut off for a year, and the leak/rupture happened during that time, you'll probably have to let it leak for a little while in order to find it.

Call around and find a plumber who can listen for the leak... they use specialized listening equipment and can usually pinpoint the location pretty well.

In the meantime, you should turn the meter off, if you haven't already.

Good luck!
~aaron

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Originally Posted by agarcia214

I am remodeling a vacant house, I just purchased and the water utilities company came out to turn water meter on and discovered that my water meter is running like crazy. There is no water coming out of the faucets inside the house anywhere. The house has been vacant for one year. What do you think is causing this. Where could the leak be? Any help is appreciated.

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The first thing you must do is locate the source of the leak. Close the house shut off and check the meter. Is the little pointer still running? If yes then the leak's between the meter and the house in the service line. Now open up the house stop. If the meter starts running then the leak's in the house system. Let me know what you find out. Good luck, Tom

My brothers had this problem at their house and it ended up being a combination of 2 new roommates doing laundry and an almost constantly running toilet. I came over and assessed the situation within an hour. I heard the toilet running, and when I was checking the water meter it jumped up real quick, and I went inside, and someone was washing clothes, so I brought up the fact that the combination of these two things could do it, and I was right!!