My meter test showed a leak. Can I find it myself?

You can narrow it down. Turn off the isolating valves to each toilet and the hot water unit one at a time and see whether the meter stops moving. If it still moves with every fixture isolated, the leak is in the pipework itself, and that is where detection equipment saves opening walls at random.

Can a leak under a concrete slab be fixed without breaking up the floor?

Sometimes. Once the leak is pinpointed, a plumber may cut a small opening over it, or abandon the leaking line and run a new one through the walls or roof space. Which option suits depends on the location, the floor finish and the pipe material.

How long does a leak detection visit take?

A typical home visit takes from about an hour to a few hours, depending on how many methods are needed and how much pipework there is. Underground lines on acreage or a leak that only shows up intermittently can take longer, so ask how the provider charges if it runs over.

Is a damp wall always a plumbing leak?

No. Rising damp, a leaking roof or gutter, a failed shower seal or condensation can all leave a wall wet. A leak detection provider can test whether the water is coming from a pressurised pipe, which tells you whether a plumber, a roofer or a waterproofer is the right next call.

Should I keep the water off while I wait for the visit?

If the meter or pump test shows a steady loss and you can see damage spreading, closing the main valve between uses limits it. For a very slow leak that is not causing visible damage, leaving the water on lets the provider run the same tests when they arrive.

Water leak detection in Byron Bay NSW

If your Byron Bay water bill has jumped with no change in use, a wall or floor stays damp, or a rainwater pressure pump starts by itself at night, there is probably a hidden leak. You can confirm it yourself with a simple meter test or by watching the pump, then a plumber locates the leak with listening gear, a thermal camera or a pressure test before opening up the wall or floor. A national guide puts a leak detection visit at $168 to $400, with the repair charged on top.

Illustrative photo for Water leak detection in Byron Bay NSW

The leak detection and repair are carried out by an independent local plumber who receives your enquiry through this site and prices the work on their own terms, as the about page describes.

What are the signs of a hidden water leak?

A water bill noticeably higher than the same period last year, when nothing about the household has changed.
The water meter dial moving with every tap, toilet and appliance turned off.
A damp patch, bubbling paint or swollen skirting board on a wall that carries pipes.
Tiles lifting, grout staying dark, or a musty smell in a bathroom or laundry.
A warm spot on a concrete floor, which can point to a hot water pipe leaking under the slab.
On tank water, the pressure pump cutting in for a few seconds when nobody is using water, or a tank level falling faster than it should.
A patch of lawn or garden that stays green and soft in dry weather above an underground line.

A leaking toilet cistern is a frequent culprit and the easiest thing to rule out first. A few drops of food colouring in the cistern that show up in the pan without a flush mean the inlet or outlet valve is passing water. The toilet and tap repairs page covers that fix.

How do you test for a leak with the water meter?

On town water, the meter is usually near the front boundary. This test takes about an hour:

Turn off every tap, and make sure the dishwasher, washing machine, irrigation and any pool top-up are not running.
Check that no toilet is refilling.
Read the meter and write down every number and the time, or take a photo of the dial.
Leave all water off for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better, and overnight is better again if you can manage it.
Read the meter again. If the numbers have moved, water is going somewhere.

Many meters also have a small low-flow indicator, a star or triangle wheel, that spins with even a slow leak. If it turns with everything off, there is water flowing.

How do you test for a leak on a rainwater tank?

Tank-fed homes have no water meter, so the pump does the job instead. Turn every tap and appliance off, then listen to the pressure pump for 20 to 30 minutes. A pump that starts briefly every few minutes with nothing open is topping up pressure lost through a leak, a passing toilet valve or a faulty non-return valve at the pump. Hinterland properties around Bangalow and other acreage areas often have long buried lines between the tank, the pump and the house, and a slow leak in one of them can run for months before anyone notices. Pump and tank faults themselves are covered on the rainwater tanks and pumps page.

How does a plumber find a leak without digging up the whole house?

The hipages leak detection cost guide lists the methods professionals use. The ones that come up most on home plumbing jobs:

Method	How it works	Good for
Acoustic listening	Sensitive microphones pick up the hiss of water escaping from a pressurised pipe	Pipes in walls, under slabs and underground
Thermal imaging	A camera shows temperature differences where leaking water has cooled or warmed a surface	Hot water leaks under floors, wet patches in walls and ceilings
Pressure testing	Sections of pipe are isolated and pressurised to see which one loses pressure	Narrowing a leak down to one branch of the system
Dye testing	Coloured dye added to fixtures or drains to show where water ends up	Cisterns, showers and drainage
Visual inspection	Checking fittings, taps and exposed pipe	Obvious leaks, though it misses hidden and slow ones
Ground penetrating radar	Radar scanning of the ground	Tracing underground lines on larger sites

A competent leak detection visit usually combines two or three of these and ends with the leak marked on the wall, floor or ground, so the repair opens up only what it has to. If you want to book a leak detection enquiry before the damage spreads, mention any of the signs above that you have already seen.

What does leak detection cost in Byron Bay?

Item	Published band	Source
Leak detection visit	$168 to $400	hipages national guide, January 2026
Plumber labour for the repair once found	$84 to $210 per hour	Byron Bay estimate from a published local cost guide, October 2026

The hipages guide says the cost moves with the type of leak, the detection method, how hard the location is to reach, the type of property and whether the work is outside business hours. Repairs, and any drying out or restoration after water damage, are extra. All of these bands are published estimates, not quotes, and the plumbing cost guide for Byron Bay puts them next to every other job on the site.

Who pays for a leak on your side of the meter?

As general practice, the pipes on the property side of the water meter belong to the owner, so finding and fixing a leak there is the owner’s cost, and the water lost usually goes through the meter and onto the bill. Byron Shire Council supplies town water to the urban parts of the Shire from Rocky Creek Dam through Rous County Council, according to its water supply page. Check your council’s billing rules and ask whether any leak allowance is available before assuming either way. If the leak looks to be on the street side of the meter or in the footpath, raise it with Council first.

What will a careful provider do once the leak is found?

Mark the leak and explain how it was found before opening any wall, floor or ground.
Give a price for the repair separately from the detection fee.
Repair with WaterMark certified pipe and fittings on drinking water lines.
Retest the system after the repair, with a meter reading or a pump check, so you know the leak has stopped.
Provide a short written report with photos, and a Certificate of Compliance for the plumbing work.

In NSW any plumbing repair needs a licensed plumber, whatever the size of the job, and the about page shows how to look up a licence.

Will insurance cover a hidden leak?

That depends entirely on your policy, so read it or ask your insurer before work starts. What helps any claim is evidence: dated photos of the damage, your meter readings with times, the water bills that showed the jump, and the provider’s written report saying where the leak was and what caused it. Ask the provider for that report as part of the job. Active flooding from a split pipe is a different situation, covered on the burst pipes page.

Next step

Send a leak detection enquiry with your two meter readings and the times you took them, or a description of how often the tank pump cuts in with everything off. Attach your last two water bills if the bill is what tipped you off, say where the damp patch or warm spot is, and add photos of it, so the provider knows which detection method to bring.

Send a job enquiry