How do smart water meters detect leaks?
This article discusses features only available to customers in the Perth smart water meter program.
For general information about how to check for potential leaks, see our Detect a leak page.
In this article
If you’ve received an alert about a potential leak at your property, you may be wondering how your smart meter can detect these.
When water is flowing constantly through your meter over an extended period of time, this triggers an alert in our systems.
Because it’s unusual for water to be flowing at all hours in a typical household, there’s a good chance it’s caused by a leak.
Here’s what to look out for and what you should do next if there’s a suspected leak at your property.
Constant flow can be a tell-tale sign of abnormal water use
In a typical household, water should only flow through the meter when you use water throughout the day.
At some point, we expect there to be no water flowing through the meter, such as when you’re sleeping.
At these times, assuming that all your taps and water appliance are turned off, water flow should drop to zero.
However, if your meter detects that water is flowing at all hours, this could mean you have a leak.
In your online account, you’ll notice in the ‘Day’ view that your hourly water use never drops to zero.
After a while, if you look in the ‘Week’ view, you may start to see some water is being lost due to a potential leak.
If you’re subscribed to our Leak & Water Use alerts, we’ll also send you an email or SMS notifying you about this.
What else could be causing continuous water flow at my property?
A continuous flow doesn’t always mean you have a leak. There could be other reasons, like:
- you’ve left the outdoor hose on
- you’re running an evaporative air conditioner
- you’re filling up your pool.
What should I do if I’m concerned about a constant flow?
If you’re unsure what’s causing water to flow continuously at your property, use our easy leak detection tool to do a leak test.
This will quickly identify if you have a leak. For a smart meter, it only takes a few minutes.
If you have a leak, you can use our waterwise specialist search to find a licensed plumber.
Have you signed up to receive leak and water use alerts?
You can sign up to receive SMS or email alerts so we can notify you if we detect a continuous flow or higher than normal water use.
If you receive an alert, it’s important to take action as soon as possible to minimise water loss, potential damage to your property and avoid high water bills.
In your online account, you can also track your daily water use to see the impact and keep on top of your water use.
Sign up for alerts
To receive Leak & High Water Use Alerts:
1. Log in to your online account and select the ‘My water use’ tab.
2. Follow the steps to sign up and select your preferences.
3. You’ll receive an alert when we detect you have a continuous flow or higher than normal water use.