HomeLeak detection

Leak Detection
in Krugersdorp

Leak detection in Krugersdorp starts at the water meter and ends with a gauge that has to hold steady for an hour. In between, the pipework is split into sections until the leak has nowhere left to hide, and you see the reading at every step.

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Water from an underground leak welling up through a puddle on gravel, rippling out from one point

Signs water is going where it should not

Some leaks announce themselves. Most of these do not, until the bill arrives.

  • The meter turns with every tap shut. A leak somewhere after the meter, or a toilet cistern that never stops running.
  • A bill that jumped for no reason. A hidden leak, or a meter reading worth querying with the municipality first.
  • A damp patch, lifting tiles, bubbling paint. A supply or hot pipe leaking inside the wall or the floor.
  • A wet patch in the garden that never dries. A buried supply pipe, often at a joint.
  • A toilet that hisses or refills by itself. The cistern valve or washer: the cheapest leak there is to fix.
  • Low pressure at every tap. A large leak on your side, or a supply problem in the street, which the meter test tells apart.

One hour at 1,500 kPa

There is a national test for whether a water installation leaks. It is the most useful number on this page.

SANS 10252-1, the national standard for water installations in buildings, sets out how an installation is proved sound. In practice the pipes are sealed off, pumped to 1,500 kPa or more (higher still for a system that normally runs above 1,000 kPa), and watched for sixty minutes. It passes only if there is no loss of water and no sign of leakage anywhere.

In leak detection that test does two jobs. Before the search, a falling gauge confirms there is a leak on the private side of the meter rather than a billing problem. After the repair, a gauge that holds for the full hour is the proof that the leak, and any other leak nobody had found yet, is gone.

Why the full hour matters here: the Council for Geoscience puts leaking water-bearing services first in its list of sinkhole triggers, and parts of Mogale City are dolomite land, covered by the Dolomitic Overlay Zone in the municipality's Land Use Scheme. A slow leak under a lawn can run for a long time without a wet patch, because the water drains down instead of coming up. A pressure test does not depend on the leak showing itself.

The municipality has leaks of its own to chase. A 2025 reply to a parliamentary question about Mogale City put its average water loss at R45 million a quarter, "which is 32% of the water lost through infrastructure leaks". That is the street side. From the meter to every tap, the pipes and the water that runs through them belong to the property.

Whoever finds your leak, ask for the pressure test after the repair and watch the gauge for the whole hour. A needle that holds is the only proof that counts.

A pressure gauge fitted to a house water line reads 1,500 kilopascals; a clock beside it marks the one hour the reading has to hold without dropping kPa 05001000150020002500 test pressure: at least 1,500 kPa, or 1.5 times the working pressure held for one hour no drop on the gauge and no sign of water anywhere: then it passes the house water line, closed off for the test
The pressure test, drawn. Not a photograph of any reading.

How leak detection is priced

The search and the repair are priced separately, so you know what the finding cost before deciding on the fix.

Always part of it

  • A meter test with all the water off
  • A pressure test on the installation
  • Splitting the pipework into sections to narrow the search
  • Showing you where the leak is before anything is opened

What moves the number

  • How many sections the house needs testing in
  • Whether a wall or floor must be opened to confirm it
  • Buried pipes, long yard runs and access to them
  • The repair itself, priced separately once the leak is found

What you get in writing

  • The meter and gauge readings
  • Where the leak is and what caused it
  • The repair recommended, with its price
  • The readings from the test after the repair

How a leak is found and proved fixed

The first step is one you can do yourself, today, for nothing.

  1. Try the meter test

    Close every tap, note the meter, use no water for an hour, then read it again. Put the result in the form.

  2. Pressure test

    The installation is closed off and put under test pressure. A falling gauge confirms the leak is on your side.

  3. Narrow it down

    Sections of pipe are isolated one at a time until the gauge holds, which leaves the leak in the last one.

  4. Repair and prove it

    The repair is priced and done, then the test runs again for the full hour with you able to watch.

Leak detection questions

Cost first, then how to check for a leak before anyone comes out.

What does leak detection cost in Krugersdorp?

There are two prices: one for the search, which depends on the amount of pipework and how easy it is to get at, and one for the repair once the leak has a location. You hear the visit amount on the phone, and the repair price in writing before any wall or floor is touched.

How can I check for a leak myself?

Close every tap and make sure nothing is filling: toilets, the geyser, an irrigation system. Write down the reading on the water meter, use no water at all for an hour, and read it again. If the number has moved, water is going somewhere after the meter.

Will you break my walls to find the leak?

Not to search. The pipework is tested in sections until the leak is pinned to one length of pipe, and only then is anything opened, in one small place, with your agreement first. The aim is to open once, in the right spot.

Is the leak on my side or the municipality's?

The meter is the dividing line. Pipes from the street to the meter are Mogale City's, and leaks there should be reported to the municipality. Everything after the meter, through to every tap in the house, belongs to the property and to its water bill.

My bill went up, but I cannot see water anywhere. Why?

Water from a buried pipe can drain down into the ground instead of coming up, so a leak can run for a long time without a wet patch. A toilet cistern that trickles into the bowl is the other quiet culprit. The meter test above tells you whether it is a leak at all, before anyone pays for a search.

Can you find a leak in a swimming pool?

Pool leaks are found with a different method from house pipework. Ask when you book, and you will be told straight whether it can be covered or not.

Will my insurance pay for finding the leak?

That depends on the policy, and policies treat the search, the pipe repair and any damage differently. Ask your insurer before the search starts. The written finding and the readings go on the invoice, which is what a claim needs.

Why does the test have to run for a whole hour?

Because a small leak only shows as a slow fall on the gauge. A few minutes can look steady when water is still escaping. The national standard asks for the pressure to be held for at least an hour with no loss, and that is the test worth watching.

Where a leak search often leads

Hidden leaks have a habit of starting at the geyser or ending in an emergency.

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Your name, a number and the suburb are enough to start. We phone you back to hear what is wrong before anyone drives out.

We use these details only to answer this request. See the privacy notice.

Where we come out

We come to the house: there is no counter or yard to visit. Krugersdorp and the suburbs around it are the core of the area, with the outlying parts of Mogale City by arrangement.

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Krugersdorp and close by

  • Krugersdorp North
  • Krugersdorp West
  • Monument
  • Noordheuwel
  • Kenmare
  • Rant-en-Dal
  • Silverfields
  • Mindalore
  • Wentworth Park
  • Dan Pienaarville

Further out in Mogale City

  • Muldersdrift
  • Featherbrooke
  • Cradlestone
  • Kagiso
  • Azaadville
  • Magaliesburg