Find out who owns the leaking pipe. Learn what a leak check can tell you. See how Loudoun Water and Leesburg treat your bill after you fix it.
Stop the water and establish whose pipe failed
If water is escaping inside, use your home's main shutoff if you can reach it safely. Loudoun Water says this valve normally sits where the water line enters through the foundation. Photograph the wet area. Note when you first saw it. Those records will help you explain the problem after the water stops.
Loudoun Water maintains the public main and water service connection. As the owner, you maintain the building service pipe and indoor piping. Report a suspected supply leak to the utility so it can check whether its pipes failed. It repairs leaks on its portion without charging you. It does not reimburse work on private pipes. A wet yard alone does not tell you whose pipe failed.
Use the provider named on your bill. Leesburg's policies below apply to town utility customers, not everyone with a Leesburg mailing address. If your house uses a private well, tell the plumber at the start. Public-water leak checks and credits do not apply to that job.
Source: Loudoun Water, Protect Your Pipes, undated, no effective date stated; Customer Handbook, December 2023 edition, no separate effective date stated. Provider-check and recordkeeping suggestions are editorial guidance. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Find the cause before opening a wall
A high bill can start with a silent toilet leak. Loudoun Water's troubleshooting guide lists dripping taps, loose supply connections and faulty irrigation systems as other possible causes of continuous use. Start with those accessible fixtures before agreeing to exploratory holes.
For a toilet, the utility recommends putting food colouring or a dye tablet in the tank. Wait one hour without flushing. Colour in the bowl points to a leaking flapper. A sticking handle or chain can also leave a toilet running. Beneath a sink, check whether the wet spot comes from a supply connection. Do not assume the tap body failed.
Ask the plumber which fixture or pipe leaks. Ask how they narrowed down its location. Find out what each test showed. Ask what remains uncertain. If they propose specialist equipment, ask what it will tell them. Check whether they will still need to open the surface. Get the repair target in writing. Saying that the house has a leak is not enough.
Loudoun Water's LW Connect portal lets you monitor usage. Save the relevant history to compare use before and after the repair. A usage record helps you investigate. It does not pinpoint a broken fitting.
Source: Loudoun Water, Check For Leaks and Rates & Billing, both undated, no effective dates stated. Questions about testing and written findings are editorial guidance. Gathered 2026-09-23.
What a local leak check costs—and what it leaves out
Loudoun Water lists a $55 leak-check fee in its current schedule. It also lists a $55 pressure-check fee. These cover utility services. They are not prices for opening plasterboard, replacing pipe or repairing a buried service line. Ask which check your appointment covers. A utility visit may not give you a complete diagnosis.
Leesburg handles its leak-check charge differently. If the town finds an underground leak in the water service line, it does not charge for the check. If it finds no leak, or a leak elsewhere, it charges a leak-check fee. We could not verify the current amount from the town guidance we reviewed.
We found no primary-source Loudoun County prices for private leak detection, indoor pipe repairs or underground water-line repairs. Ask for separate prices to find the leak and fix it. Settle who pays to open and close walls. Check who pays to dig and refill a trench. Ask who pays to restore affected surfaces. You can find permit fees on the county page. Those government charges do not tell you what this repair will cost.
Source: Loudoun Water, Rates, Fees, Charges and Penalties, 2026 schedule effective 2026-01-01; Town of Leesburg, Services & Rates, leak-check guidance undated, no effective date stated. Quote comparisons are editorial guidance; no primary-source private repair prices verified. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Match the repair to the failure
Ask for a quote that names the failed part. Get it to spell out how much work is included. Replacing a tap seal is a different job from replacing a damaged pipe section. Replacing the entire buried supply line is different again. If the plumber recommends replacing more, ask what they found beyond the immediate leak. Ask why a smaller repair would not solve it.
Before digging, settle who will arrange utility marks. Agree who will locate the private pipe before digging starts. Loudoun Water tells you to contact the utility-marking service before you dig. It says it may help locate water and sewer service laterals. Its guidance says these private lines may be copper, plastic or a mixture. Ask for the quote to describe the pipe actually found at your house.
If a pipe split during cold weather, ask about the exposed area. Loudoun Water advises insulating pipes in unheated or draughty spaces. It also advises sealing draughts in basements and crawl spaces. It recommends draining outside tap lines too. Ask whether the proposed work tackles what allowed the pipe to freeze. Replacing the split section alone leaves that question unanswered.
Source: Loudoun Water, Protect Your Pipes, Call Before You Dig, and Frozen Pipes, undated, no effective dates stated. Repair-scope questions are editorial guidance. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Keep the proof needed for a bill credit
Loudoun Water's current rules treat underground supply leaks differently from inside or irrigation-system leaks. These courtesy credits cover excess usage. They do not pay your plumber's invoice.
| Loudoun Water condition | Published rule |
|---|---|
| Eligible water and sewer overage | A courtesy credit of 100% of each overage may apply, using comparable usage history |
| Repair after the utility notifies you | Repair within 30 days to remain eligible |
| Period the credit can cover | At most two quarters: the repair quarter and the previous quarter if the leak spanned both |
| Inside or irrigation-system leak | One credit per customer per account, shared between these categories |
Hose bibs, water left running, ordinary irrigation use, settings and faulty timers do not qualify. Send a letter asking for the credit. Keep receipts or invoices showing the repair. Describe the location accurately. A broken irrigation pipe gets different treatment from a timer that ran too long.
Leesburg only allows credits for eligible leaks in the underground pipe between the meter and your home. It excludes toilet, tap, irrigation and other indoor plumbing leaks. You may get a credit for a failed fixture with Loudoun Water but not with Leesburg.
Source: Loudoun Water, Rates, Rules and Regulations, Rule 29, effective 2025-10-09; Town of Leesburg, Services & Rates, leak-credit guidance undated, no effective date stated. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Agree on how the job will be checked
Before signing, ask how the plumber will show that the repaired pipe or fixture holds water without leaking. Get the quote to say when you can use the supply again. Have it name who will check exposed work before surfaces are closed. Have it say who will handle any required county inspections. You can find that process on the county page.
Keep a final invoice that names the failed part. Make sure it records the location. Check that it says what the plumber replaced. Get the date they finished on it too. Ask for photographs before the repair disappears behind plasterboard or soil. Compare your usage history with ordinary household activity. If you still see unexplained use, take another look. A dry patch of floor alone does not show the whole result.
Source: Loudoun Water, Rates & Billing, undated, no effective date stated, for customer usage monitoring. Contract and closeout questions are editorial guidance, not a utility-prescribed test procedure. Gathered 2026-09-23.