Find It Before Anyone Cuts Drywall
Leak Detection in Roswell, GA
Meter tests, acoustic listening and thermal imaging pinpoint hidden supply leaks in Roswell homes, so the repair opening is small and in the right place.
- Meter test first
- Non-invasive tools
- Owner side vs. utility side answered
Who Supplies Your Water?
Figures from the City of Roswell's 2024 water quality report.
Sound Familiar?
The Water Bill Jumped, or the Meter Moves With Every Tap Off
That is how most leak detection jobs start. There is no puddle and no stain, just a bill that makes no sense or a meter dial that keeps creeping while the house is silent. Sometimes it is a sound instead, a faint hiss in a wall at night, or a patch of floor that feels warm under bare feet.
Leak detection is the work of finding a hidden leak without tearing the house apart to look for it. Roswell 24/7 Plumbing does it across Roswell, in 30075 and 30076, and in nearby Dunwoody, with a sequence of tests that narrows the search from the whole property down to a spot you could cover with your hand.
The first step is always the same: work out whether the leak is on your side of the water meter at all.
Two Water Providers, One Rule About the Meter
Roswell runs its own water system, but it serves only part of the city. According to the City's 2024 water quality report, the Roswell Water Utility serves roughly 18,500 residents, drawing mainly from Big Creek and a groundwater well, with supplemental water available from the Tom Lowe plant in Johns Creek on the Chattahoochee. The other 80 percent or so of Roswell gets water from Fulton County.
Either way, the meter is the dividing line. Fulton County's service lateral flyer puts leaks between the meter and the house on the owner, and leaks between the meter and the main on the County. If the meter test shows a leak but everything inside the house checks out, the buried service line becomes the prime suspect.
Your water bill names your provider. That matters for who you call if the leak turns out to be on the street side.
Method
How a Hidden Leak Gets Found
- 1
Meter test
Confirm water is being lost and roughly how fast.
- 2
Isolate
Shut valves to split the house from the service line and zone by zone.
- 3
Listen and image
Acoustic ground mics and thermal cameras pinpoint the spot.
- 4
Confirm and mark
Verify with a second method before any opening.
Ground microphones and wall sensors amplify the hiss a pressurized pipe makes where it is losing water, even through soil or a floor. Thermal imaging shows temperature differences, which makes hot-water leaks under floors stand out. For stubborn cases, a harmless tracer gas can be pushed into the line and detected where it escapes. A leak under the concrete floor itself is covered on our slab leak page.
Hear Water Running Somewhere?
Describe where and when you hear it. That alone narrows the search a lot.
Where Leaks Hide
Common Hidden Leaks in Roswell Homes
The house type and era change where the search starts.
| Where | Clues | Why it happens here |
|---|---|---|
| Polybutylene supply lines | Stains on ceilings below bathrooms, sudden drops in pressure | Common in 1978 to 1995 homes, fittings fail with age |
| Crawl space piping | Musty smell, damp insulation, high meter reading | Many Roswell homes sit over crawl spaces on sloped lots |
| Buried service line | Soggy strip in the yard, meter spins with all taps off | Older lines and shifting red clay |
| Toilets | Tank refills on its own, dye shows in the bowl | Worn flappers and fill valves |
| Irrigation | Wet spots after dry days, high summer bills | Buried lines and heads damaged by mowers or roots |
What to Check Before You Call
Ten minutes of checking can save an hour of searching.
- Do the meter test. With all water off, watch the leak indicator dial on the meter. Movement means a leak somewhere.
- Dye-test every toilet. Food coloring in the tank, 15 minutes, no flushing. Color in the bowl is a flapper leak.
- Shut off irrigation. Turn off the irrigation supply and repeat the meter test to rule it in or out.
- Look under sinks and at the water heater. Check supply lines and the relief valve pipe for drips.
- Walk the yard. Look for a green stripe, soft ground or standing water between the meter and the house.
Tell the dispatcher what you found. It often halves the search.
Cost
What Affects the Cost of Leak Detection
Detection is priced by how hard the leak is to find, not by how big it is.
Some insurance policies cover the cost of locating a leak that caused covered damage. Keep the detection report and photos for your claim.
Want the leak found before it does more damage? Call (770) 214-4545.
Questions
Leak Detection Questions
Turn off every faucet, appliance and irrigation zone. Find the meter, usually in a box near the street, and look at the small leak indicator dial, often a triangle or star. If it moves with everything off, water is going somewhere. Take a photo of the reading, wait an hour without using water, and compare. Do not dig around or operate valves inside the meter box, since that equipment belongs to the utility.
It depends on which side of the meter it is on. Fulton County's service lateral flyer puts leaks between the meter and the house on the owner and leaks between the meter and the main on the County. Roswell Water Utility customers can report utility-side leaks to the City. For owner-side leaks, see our water line repair page.
Only where the leak actually is. Acoustic listening and thermal imaging narrow the location first, so any opening is small and targeted. That is the whole point of detection before repair.
Yes, and it is one of the most common hidden leaks. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, wait 15 minutes without flushing, and look in the bowl. Color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking.
Many owner-side leaks are located in a single visit. Leaks under slabs, in long buried lines or with intermittent flow can take longer, and a second method such as tracer gas may be needed.
Some policies cover the cost of finding a leak when it causes covered damage. Coverage varies a great deal, so call your insurer with the details before or right after the visit.
Sources for This Page
Provider figures and water sources come from the City of Roswell's 2024 Annual Water Quality and Consumer Confidence Report. Meter-side responsibility comes from Fulton County Public Works' water and sewer service lateral flyer. Detection methods reflect standard acoustic, thermal and tracer gas practice.
Written by the Roswell 24/7 Plumbing team and checked against the sources above. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.
Meter Moving With Everything Off?
Find the leak with a few small tests instead of a lot of opened walls.
Call (770) 214-4545