Be sure the water line does not go anywhere else like the backyard.

Try walking in a straight line from the shutoff valve to the meter. See if
you get any wet "squishing" in a particular area. Might get lucky.

Also sometimes you can hammer a metal bar into the ground, place your ear to
the bar, and hear hissing. Or if possible, place ear on pipe near house and
listen for hissing. Then at meter. Would be louder closer to leak.

If you have to dig the whole works up to find the leak, might as well dig an
entirely new trench which goes well around the tree. Then install a new
line.

Probably need to get a permit to do this btw.


wrote in message
I live in a house with a small front yard. The main water line and
meter is at the curb, the water enters the house at the front corner of
the house. It can be shut off there also. If I shut off the water
entering the house, I am still using 10 gal/hr of water according to
the meter, so there must be a leak in the line in the front yard
somewhere. There is a big tree in the middle of the lawn, so I am
suspecting some roots have broke the line, but am not sure. There are
no soggy spots anywhere in the front yard. Anyone know of any ways to
trace the line short of digging up the whole lawn?? I don't know what
direction it runs from the meter to the house, how deep it is, whether
it is plastic or copper.