How to Check Your Water Meter for Hidden Leaks
Turn off every fixture and appliance, note the reading on your water meter and its leak indicator, then wait 15–30 minutes without using any water. If the number moves or the indicator keeps turning, water is flowing somewhere on your side of the meter. Before you trust that result, rule out an irrigation cycle, a softener mid-regeneration, an icemaker refill, or a pool auto-fill — each can look exactly like a hidden leak.
What a Water Meter Can and Cannot Prove
A meter can confirm water is moving past it during a period when nothing should be using water. It cannot tell you which pipe, fixture, or side of the property that water is coming from. A positive result is a starting point, not a diagnosis.
Before Testing: List Every Automatic Water User
Several systems use water on their own schedule and can mimic a leak during a no-use test.
How to Identify the Display and Leak Indicator
Most residential meters show a rolling register plus a small secondary indicator built to reveal a trickle the main digits move too slowly to show — a triangular or star-shaped dial on an analog meter, or a flow icon or flashing flag on a digital one. If the indicator is turning or lit while everything’s off, water is flowing somewhere right now.
Record a Clean Baseline Reading
Run a Timed Whole-Property No-Use Test
Separate Irrigation From Indoor Plumbing
Run the no-use test twice: once with irrigation fully off, once during a normal watering cycle. If the meter is still with irrigation off but moves during watering, the loss is most likely in the irrigation system — a stuck valve, a cracked lateral, or a leaking emitter — rather than household plumbing.
Check Toilets, Softeners, Appliances, and Pool Fill Systems
Use the Home Shutoff to Narrow the Side of the Leak
Stop here: don’t force a resistant shutoff, and don’t lift a meter box lid with your bare hand — those belong to the utility.
Interpret Steady, Intermittent, and Zero Movement
Document Readings, Photos, Times, and Recent Bills
When High Use May Not Be a Plumbing Leak
More people in the household, a newly filled pool, a changed irrigation schedule, a new higher-use appliance, or a hot billing period can all raise use without a leak. Weigh these before assuming a leak.
When to Contact Goodyear Water or Another Provider
Not every Goodyear address is a City of Goodyear Water customer — EPCOR and Liberty Utilities also serve parts of the city. If your test points to loss between the meter and your shutoff, confirm your actual provider before calling.
When Professional Leak Detection Is the Next Step
A confirmed no-use test result tells you water is moving — not which pipe or wall it’s coming from. If the shutoff test points inside the house, professional water leak detection narrows the leak to a specific location.
Frequently Asked Water-Meter Test Questions
How do I prepare the house for a water-meter leak test?
Turn off every fixture and appliance, switch the irrigation controller fully off, and note anything on an automatic schedule like a softener regeneration or icemaker refill. Record a clean baseline reading before starting the clock.
What does a moving leak indicator mean?
It means water is flowing past the meter at that exact moment. On its own, that only confirms flow is happening somewhere on your side of the meter — it doesn’t identify the fixture or location.
How can I separate indoor use from irrigation use?
Run the no-use test with irrigation fully off, then again during a normal watering cycle. If the meter is still with irrigation off but moves during watering, irrigation is the more likely source.
Can the meter show where the leak is?
No. A meter confirms water is moving; it cannot show which pipe, wall, or slab area it’s coming from. Narrowing the location further requires shutoff isolation and often professional leak detection.
When should I contact the utility or a leak-detection professional?
Contact your water provider when the shutoff test shows loss between the meter and your main valve. Contact a leak-detection professional when the loss is confirmed inside the house.
How long should a water-meter leak test take?
A quick 15–30 minute check can catch an obvious leak. For a more reliable result, plan on roughly two hours with no water use at all, per EPA Fix a Leak Week guidance.
What if my address isn’t served by City of Goodyear Water?
Some addresses within Goodyear city limits are served by EPCOR or Liberty Utilities instead. Confirm your actual provider before calling about a meter or billing question.
Next Step
A meter test gives you a documented answer to one question: is water moving when it shouldn’t be. If your results point to a problem worth a professional look, contact Copper Vale Home Services with your readings and photos in hand.