Active Leak? Do These Things Before You Call
Water damage grows by the hour, and a few quick steps limit it. If the leak is large or coming through a ceiling, speed matters more than finding the exact cause.
- Shut off the main water valve, usually near the meter or where the line enters the house.
- If water is dripping near light fixtures, outlets or the panel, switch off power only if you can reach the breaker without standing in water.
- Stay out of any room where a ceiling is bulging, because saturated drywall can drop without warning.
- Open a faucet at the lowest point to drain pressure from the pipes.
- Call the 24/7 line and tell us where you see water and whether the main is off.
If water is touching live electrical equipment, leave the house and call 911 before anything else. A leaking hydrant or main in the street is a borough matter, so call the borough water emergency line or 911.
Is It Really a Leak? Check the Water Meter
The meter is the quickest honest test. Turn off every fixture, the ice maker and the washing machine, then look at the meter. If the dial or low-flow indicator keeps moving, water is going somewhere you cannot see.
Next, shut the main valve inside the house and check the meter again. If it stops, the leak is inside the house. If it keeps moving, the leak is on the pipe between the meter and the house, which is buried and harder to spot.
That one test changes what we bring and where we dig or open walls. Tell us what you saw when you call, because it saves time on arrival.
High Water Bill Leak Testing
A bill that climbs without any change in how you live is a classic sign of a hidden leak. Toilets are the most common source and they leak silently.
Toilet flapper leaks
Add food coloring to the tank and wait fifteen minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means the flapper is letting water through.
Dripping faucets and hose bibs
A slow drip adds up over a billing period. Outdoor spigots that drip behind a wall are easy to miss.
Water heater and softener lines
Small leaks at fittings or relief valves run constantly and rarely show on the floor.
Irrigation and outdoor lines
A stuck sprinkler valve or cracked line can run for days. Check the yard for soft, green or wet patches.
The pipe from the meter to the house
A leak here shows on the meter but not inside. This is the underground section and needs locating equipment.
Hawthorne Water Department and Your Leak
Hawthorne's water comes from the borough's own wells, so meter and billing questions go to the borough instead of a large regional utility. The Hawthorne Water Department handles low pressure and billing questions and it is worth calling when a bill looks wrong. Ask what your reading history shows so you can tell us when the increase started.
Responsibility matters before you spend money. The leaking valve and the service pipe from the curb to the house are the property owner's responsibility, not the borough's. A leak in the street itself, such as a broken main or hydrant, belongs to the borough or 911. A leak test tells you which side of that line you are on.
How We Find a Hidden Leak
Confirm and narrow
We read the meter, isolate zones with valves and run a pressure test to learn whether the leak is on supply or drain piping.
Listen and locate
Acoustic listening gear and thermal imaging help us find the source behind walls, under floors or in the ground.
Mark and explain
We mark the spot, show you what we found and give a clear price before work starts for the repair.
Hidden Leak Locations and What They Look Like
Different locations give different clues. Use this table to match what you see to the likely source.
| Location | Common signs | How we check | Typical next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under a slab floor. | Warm spots, damp flooring, sound of running water. | Pressure test and listening gear on the floor. | Reroute the line or open the slab at the leak. |
| Ceiling below a bath or kitchen. | Brown stains, bubbling paint, drips. | Moisture reading, then isolate supply and drain. | Open a small section and repair the pipe or fitting. |
| Crawlspace or under the house. | Musty smell, sagging insulation, wet soil. | Visual check and pressure test. | Repair or replace the damaged run. |
| Buried service line. | Meter runs with main closed, wet or soft ground. | Meter test and ground listening. | Dig at the marked spot and repair. |
| Inside a wall. | Stains, peeling paint, mold smell. | Thermal imaging and moisture meter. | Open the wall at the located point. |
For repairs that follow a located leak in supply lines, see our water service line work or our burst pipe repair page.
Slab Leaks
A slab leak is a leak in a pipe under or inside a concrete floor. Clues include a warm patch on the floor, a hot water line that seems to lose heat, cracks or damp carpet at floor level, and a meter that runs when the house is off.
Slab-on-grade homes are less typical in an older borough where basements are common, but additions, garages and some ranch homes can sit on concrete. Pipes buried in a slab can corrode or rub against concrete over time. Finding the exact point before cutting saves floor, time and cost.
Once we have located the leak, you have options. A spot repair through a small opening may work, or rerouting the line overhead may avoid breaking the floor. We explain both and let you decide.
Ceiling Leaks
Water rarely drips from the spot where the pipe fails. It travels along joists and pipes and can show up several feet from the source. A stain in the kitchen ceiling might come from a bathroom drain above, a loose supply fitting, a leaking shower pan or a roof problem.
We separate plumbing causes from roof or window leaks by testing the supply and drain lines separately. If it only appears after rain, we say so and point you to a roofer rather than open a ceiling for nothing. If the ceiling is sagging, stay out of the room and call us.
Leaks Under the House or in a Crawlspace
Many older Hawthorne homes have basements or crawlspaces where supply and drain lines are exposed. That helps, because a visual check often finds the problem quickly. Look for dripping pipes, rusty fittings, wet insulation and stained joists.
Drain leaks often smell. A damp crawlspace with a sewer odor suggests a cracked cast iron or a failed joint on the drain line. We pressure test supply piping and water-test the drains to tell the two apart.
Buried Service Line Leaks
The service line runs from the street to the house, usually under a lawn or driveway. A leak there can be silent, with only a rising bill or a wet patch as evidence. If your meter runs while the main is closed inside, suspect this pipe.
Hawthorne's galvanized service lines are slated for replacement under a borough program, and a leaking galvanized line is a good reason to call. Our water service line page explains who pays for which part and how replacement works. Because the program includes only certain segments, ask the borough what applies to your address before you dig on your own.
What Leak Detection Costs
You get a clear price before work starts. Finding the leak and fixing it are separate decisions, and you can stop after we locate it if you prefer to use your own repair contractor.
If your leak caused water damage, ask your insurer what documentation they need. We can describe the findings in writing, and coverage decisions belong to your insurer.
Why Older Housing Raises the Odds of a Leak
Census estimates put the median Hawthorne home at 1953, and about 60 percent of units were built before 1960. Pipe from that era can include galvanized steel, which corrodes from the inside, and cast iron drains. Hard water, listed by the borough at roughly 236 to 278 ppm at several plants, speeds scale buildup that restricts flow and stresses fittings.
After the Leak Is Found
Common Questions
Yes. Our line is open 24/7, including evenings, weekends and holidays. If water is actively coming through a ceiling or floor, call right away after shutting off the main.
Turn off all water, then watch the meter dial or low-flow indicator. If it moves, water is leaking somewhere. Shut the main valve inside the house and check again, because a stopped meter means the leak is inside and a moving one points to the buried service line.
Start with toilets, because a worn flapper can leak without sound. Then check outdoor spigots, irrigation and the water heater area. Call the borough billing line to ask for your reading history, then call us if nothing obvious turns up.
The service pipe from the curb to the house is the owner's responsibility, and so is a leaking valve. The borough handles leaks in the main or hydrant. Galvanized lines are covered by a borough replacement program, so ask the borough what applies at your address.
Usually yes. Pressure tests, listening gear and thermal imaging narrow the location before any cutting. We open the floor only at the marked spot, or we recommend rerouting the line if that avoids the slab.
Yes. If we isolate the plumbing and it holds pressure, we say so and suggest you have the roof or windows checked. You should not pay to open a ceiling when the source is outside.
Older piping fails more often, especially galvanized steel and aging joints. That does not mean every house has a leak. A meter test tells you quickly whether water is going missing.
Local figures on this page come from the Hawthorne Water Department's 2026 Water Quality Report and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates. Check current numbers with those sources before you rely on one.