Leak detection service
Pinpoint a buried supply-pipe leak without digging up the whole drive. Acoustic, tracer-gas and thermal detection for homes and land across Cornwall.
An underground leak on a buried supply pipe, the run between your water meter and the house, or under a driveway, lawn or field, can lose hundreds of litres a day and barely show on the surface. The first sign is often a soaring water bill, a damp or unusually green patch of ground, or a drop in pressure.
Many Cornish properties have long supply runs across rural land, which makes guesswork expensive. We locate the exact point of an underground leak using non-invasive equipment. Any excavation is then dug straight down onto the leak rather than across the whole garden. For background on how leaks behave, see our water leak guide.
Signs of an underground leak: a rising water bill with no obvious cause, low water pressure, a constantly running meter, soft or boggy ground, or an area of grass that stays green in dry weather.
Related services: if the leak is inside the property see our water leak detection page, for the incoming main see mains water leak detection, and every job includes an insurance-ready trace and access report.
An underground leak is easy to ignore because there is so little to see. Below the surface, though, it can pour out water continuously and quietly damage whatever sits above it.
Left to run, a buried supply-pipe leak can:
✓waste a large amount of water and send your bill soaring✓soften and wash out the ground under drives, paths and lawns✓undermine foundations, walls and hard standing✓cost you twice when guesswork means digging in the wrong place
We trace the leak to a precise point first, so any excavation is small and targeted rather than a dig-and-hope across your garden.
Our method
Acoustic correlation: sensors at two points calculate the exact leak position along the pipe
Ground microphones listen for the sound of water escaping under the surface
Tracer gas: safe gas is fed into the pipe and detected where it rises through the ground
Thermal imaging reveals the temperature differences from escaping water near the surface
Local to Cornwall, so we know the rural supply runs and ground conditions
Pinpoint accuracy means minimal excavation and lower reinstatement costs
Insurance-approved trace & access reports
Fast response with quick turnaround
We cover the whole of Cornwall, from Land's End to Launceston. That includes Truro, St Austell, Newquay, Falmouth, Penzance, Camborne, Redruth, Bodmin, Bude, Wadebridge, Liskeard and Launceston. See all the areas we cover.
Generally you are responsible for the supply pipe that runs from the boundary stopcock into your property, while the water company looks after the main up to the boundary. The exact split can vary, so it is worth checking with South West Water. We can pinpoint exactly where on the pipe the leak is, which helps establish responsibility.
No. The point of locating the leak first is to avoid that. We identify the precise position so any excavation goes straight down onto the leak, keeping disruption and reinstatement costs to a minimum.
Yes. Acoustic correlation and tracer gas work through hard surfaces, so we can locate leaks beneath driveways, patios and concrete without breaking everything up to look.
Yes. We produce insurance-approved trace & access reports documenting where and how the leak was found, to support a claim under your policy's trace & access cover.
The whole of Cornwall, from Land's End to Launceston, including Truro, Newquay, St Austell, Falmouth, Penzance, Bodmin, Bude and Liskeard.
Free quote, fast reply
One call or one form and we will book a survey and talk you through what happens next. We cover the whole of Cornwall, from Land's End to Launceston.
Call Cornwall Leak Detection Specialists on 07897 016222. Fast response across Cornwall, Land's End to Launceston.
