Suspect that your business is suffering from a water leak?

Leak

The Consumer Council for Water estimates that 3.1 billion litres of water is lost daily to leakage across the UK.

The cost of a water leak is ultimately borne by the end consumers of water, which translates to households and businesses receiving more expensive water bills.

What happens if there is a leak on my business premises?

If water leakage occurs on your property after the water has passed through your meter, your business will pay for it directly.

The leak will result in significantly increased volumetric water and wastewater charges on your water bill.

Detecting a leak can save your business thousands in unnecessary water charges.

What are the potential indicators of a significant leak?

Boggy or damp ground on your property

If you notice an area of land that appears unusually saturated with water, it could indicate a significant leak.

This kind of leak comes from an underground mains pipe and will impact only a specific area.

The inclement British weather can also result in damp ground, so this will be easiest to spot after good weather, particularly during the summer months between May and October.

Subsidence

Ground subsidence occurs when the ground underneath a property starts to sink.

Subsidence will reveal itself in minor changes to your business property, such as sticking windows and doors, ripples in wallpaper, or cracks running along walls.

Subsidence is often caused by damage to water infrastructure and drainage systems on a property.

Subsidence can impact a property’s structural safety and value, so suspected subsidence should be addressed immediately

Mould and mildew

A leak may result in water seeping into your business property’s floors, walls, or ceilings.

The affected area will become damp and then attract mould, which gives off a musty odour that may indicate a broken pipe.

Often, mould indicates a leaking roof or exterior crack, so comparing the leak area with any available utility maps of your property is essential.

What should I do if I suspect a leak on my business property?

We recommend contacting your business water supplier if you suspect a leak on your business property. You can use our ‘Who is my water supplier‘ supplier service to find out who your business water supplier is.

Your water supplier will be able to look up unusual patterns in your water meter readings that can help identify a leak, especially if you supply them with a stream of live data from your smart water meter.

The customer services department will arrange a visit from your wholesale water retailer, the regional company that maintains the water network.

If a leak is identified outside the network of pipes bound by your water meter, it will be the wholesaler’s responsibility to fix it.

If the leak is within your internal water network, then it will be the responsibility of the property occupier to bear the repair costs.

However, we note that many of the network providers will fix the issue either way if it is not prohibitively expensive to do so.

AquaSwitch can help save your business money

If you want to save your business money on your water bills, we can help you. Use our business water comparison service today, and we can help you save £££’s