Who owns the water line, you or the utility?
Call your water utility and ask two questions: where their responsibility ends at your address, and whether they will come out and check the main and the meter before you pay anyone to dig. In most of the United States the utility owns the main and the meter, and the homeowner owns the service line from the meter to the house. But the boundary is set locally, some utilities own to the property line, and a few maintain the whole service.
That call costs nothing and it is the most valuable ten minutes on this page.
How to tell which side it is on
The meter is the dividing line in most systems, and it is also the instrument that tells you where the leak is.
The meter test. Close the main shut-off valve inside the house, then watch the meter with nothing running.
- Meter still moving: water is escaping between the meter and the house shut-off. That is your service line.
- Meter still: whatever is happening is inside the house, or is not a leak at all.
The pattern of who is affected. Only your property points to your service. Several properties points to the main.
Wet ground. A soft or unusually green strip running from the street toward the house, in dry weather, is a service line leak announcing itself.
Why it matters so much financially
A service line runs under the yard, and often under a driveway, a path, or the road. Replacing one means excavation, reinstatement of whatever was dug up, and usually a permit. That combination is why the same length of pipe costs several times more under a road than under a lawn.
It is also why trenchless methods are worth pricing even when they look expensive per foot: pipe bursting or directional drilling can replace a service line with pits at each end rather than a trench across the whole garden.
Things worth asking on the same call
- Is there a known problem in this area?
- Will you check the main and the meter?
- Where exactly does my responsibility begin?
- What is my service line made of, and do you have a record of it?
- Is there any assistance, reimbursement, or cost share program for service line replacement?
- If the leak is on your side, what happens to my bill?
Two of those deserve emphasis.
What the pipe is made of matters beyond the leak. Utilities have been required to inventory service line materials, and many will tell you whether yours is or may be lead. If it is, that changes what you do about drinking water and there are often replacement programs attached.
Assistance programs exist in a surprising number of places, and nobody advertises them.
The bill after a leak
A service line leak can produce a very large water bill, sometimes several times normal. Most utilities have a leak adjustment policy: if you repair it promptly and provide the plumber’s invoice, they will often adjust part of the excess, frequently once in a stated period.
Ask about it, apply in writing, and attach the invoice. It is not automatic and it usually has a deadline.
Insurance
The general rule holds: the policy pays for damage, not for the pipe.
Usually not covered: the service line itself, its excavation, and its repair. That is maintenance, and it is outside the house.
Usually covered: damage inside the house caused by a sudden failure, on the ordinary sudden and accidental test. The general rule on water.
Sometimes available: service line coverage as an endorsement, which covers exactly this gap, usually with a modest limit. Utilities and third parties also sell service line warranties, often by a letter that looks official. Before buying, check the cap, whether it covers the section in the right of way, whether it covers surface reinstatement, and the waiting period.
The same questions apply as for a sewer lateral warranty, and a policy capped below the realistic cost of the work is a policy that turns a large bill into a slightly smaller one.
Before you buy a house
Ask what the service line is made of and how old it is. On an older property it is worth as much as any other inspection line item and it is almost never checked.
The short version
Utility owns the main and usually the meter; you usually own everything from there to the house, including under the road. Confirm at your address before digging. Use the meter test to establish which side the leak is on, ask about leak bill adjustment and assistance programs, and know that the pipe itself is almost never an insured loss.