We want to do everything we can to encourage our customers to detect and repair leaks as quickly as possible. This helps us to reduce leakage and for you to potentially save money. Follow a handful of easy steps to see if you have a leak within your property boundary.
Checking for leaks
Sometimes leaks occur and this can be due to the age of the pipe, a weakness in the pipe, leaking fittings or joints and movement in the ground.
If your pipe has burst, don’t panic.
- Try to find where the burst is - and turn off the supply by turning the stop tap clockwise.
- Open all taps to reduce flooding.
- Soak up or block off escaping water with thick towels
- Turn off your electrics: if the water is near anything electrical - including lights, sockets or appliances - don’t touch them. Electrical wiring damaged by water can be very dangerous and you’ll probably need to call a professional to repair damage.
- Call a registered plumber - if you need help to repair a burst pipe, contact a Watersafe-assured plumber.
Pipework Ownership & Responsibility
We own the pipes that run up to the street boundary and we will always repair them as quickly as possible.
Between the street boundary and your internal stop tap is the private supply pipe. Although the pipe belongs to the property owner we will offer a free repair where possible.
All internal pipework and fittings inside the property are the owner’s responsibility to repair.
If you notice a leak or think you have one near your property, please contact us on 0800 052 0130 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
Sometimes a private water supply pipe can provide water to several properties, if we find your water pipe is shared we’ll discuss all options on how to repair it with you when we visit. You may be interested in having your own separate water pipe installed, which we would always recommend.
A private supply pipe can be quite long and cross someone else’s property boundary. If your supply pipe runs across your neighbours' boundaries then you are also responsible for this part of the pipe.
We recognise that repairing a leak on the supply pipe serving your property can be costly. This is why, we are keen to support as much as we can.
Where a repair is undertaken by a contractor, we can support with a contribution of up to £150. Should a new supply pipe be required, for example where you chose to come off a shared supply, we can support with a contribution of up to £500 and a free new connection to our main.
This contribution will be made on confirmation by Welsh Water that the supply is free, and we may require evidence of the works, and the costs associated – so keep any invoices or receipts.
As we guide you through the process of resolving your leak, we would be more than happy to talk through the above to make sure we can process a payment quickly upon resolution.
