Leak Detection and Water Line Glossary

Jump to a letter, or scroll the list. Each term links to the page that covers it in more depth. For help finding a leak, start with leak detection in Sarasota or browse the blog.

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• L
• M
• O
• P
• R
• S
• T
• W
• Z

A

Acoustic leak detection

Listening for the sound water makes as it escapes a pressurized pipe, using ground microphones and amplifiers. Learn more about acoustic leak detection.

Angle stop

A small shut-off valve under a sink or toilet that turns off water to one fixture. Learn more about angle stop.

B

Backflow preventer

A device that keeps water from flowing backward into the public supply. Sarasota County requires some customers to test and maintain them. Learn more about backflow preventer.

Ball valve

A quarter-turn valve with a drilled ball inside. Common as a main shut-off because it opens and closes fast. Learn more about ball valve.

Bedding sand

The clean sand placed under and around a buried pipe to protect it from rocks and settling. Learn more about bedding sand.

Bucket test

A simple check that compares water loss in a pool with water loss in a bucket on the pool step to separate a leak from evaporation. Learn more about bucket test.

C

Cast iron

A heavy metal pipe used for sewer and drain lines in many older homes. It can crack, scale and rust through. Learn more about cast iron.

Check valve

A one-way valve that lets water flow in only one direction, used in pool and irrigation plumbing. Learn more about check valve.

Copper pipe

Metal water pipe used in many homes from the 1960s on. It can develop pinhole leaks from corrosion over time. Learn more about copper pipe.

CPVC

Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, a rigid plastic pipe used for hot and cold water lines in many Florida homes. Learn more about CPVC.

Curb stop

A buried valve near the property line that the water utility uses to shut off service to a home. Learn more about curb stop.

Customer side

The part of the water line on the house side of the meter. In most utilities, the property owner is responsible for it. Learn more about customer side.

D

Dye test

Placing a few drops of colored dye near a suspected leak, such as a pool crack or toilet tank, to see if water pulls it in. Learn more about dye test.

E

Epoxy pipe lining

Coating the inside of an existing pipe with epoxy to seal small leaks without digging. It does not suit every pipe. Learn more about epoxy pipe lining.

Excavation

Digging to expose a buried pipe so it can be repaired or replaced. Learn more about excavation.

F

Flow indicator

The small dial or triangle on a water meter that spins whenever any water passes through, even a tiny leak. Learn more about flow indicator.

G

Galvanized pipe

Steel pipe coated with zinc, used in older homes. It rusts from the inside, which narrows the pipe and lowers pressure. Learn more about galvanized pipe.

Ground microphone

A sensitive listening tool set on soil or concrete to hear the sound of a leak below. Learn more about ground microphone.

Ground-penetrating radar

A tool that sends radar pulses into the ground to show buried objects, including some plastic pipes. Learn more about ground-penetrating radar.

H

HDPE

High-density polyethylene, a tough, flexible plastic pipe often used for buried water service lines and pipe bursting. Learn more about HDPE.

Home warranty

A service contract that pays to repair or replace some home systems that fail from wear. In Florida it is not an insurance policy. Learn more about home warranty.

Hose bib

An outdoor faucet. A dripping hose bib is an easy leak to miss. Learn more about hose bib.

Hydrostatic test

Filling a pipe system with water under pressure and watching for a pressure drop, which shows a leak. Learn more about hydrostatic test.

I

Infrared camera

A camera that shows temperature differences. A hot-water leak or wet area often shows up as a warm or cool spot. Learn more about infrared camera.

Irrigation line

The buried pipes that feed lawn sprinklers. A broken irrigation line can look like a service line leak. Learn more about irrigation line.

Isolation test

Shutting valves one at a time to narrow a leak down to one section of pipe. Learn more about isolation test.

L

Lateral

The private sewer pipe that carries wastewater from a house to the public sewer main. Learn more about lateral.

Lead service line

A water service line made of lead. Federal rules require water systems to inventory service line materials and replace lead lines. Learn more about lead service line.

Leak adjustment

A credit some utilities give on a high bill after a customer repairs a leak. Rules vary by utility. Learn more about leak adjustment.

Line locating

Tracing where a buried pipe runs, often with a transmitter and receiver, before digging. Learn more about line locating.

M

Main shut-off valve

The valve that turns off water to the whole house, usually where the service line enters or near the meter. Learn more about main shut-off valve.

Meter box

The in-ground box near the street that holds the water meter and often the utility's valve. Learn more about meter box.

Moisture meter

A handheld tool that measures moisture in floors, walls or baseboards to map how far water has spread. Learn more about moisture meter.

O

Orangeburg pipe

A sewer pipe made of tar-soaked wood fiber, used in some mid-1900s homes. It can soften, flatten and collapse. Learn more about Orangeburg pipe.

P

PEX

Cross-linked polyethylene, a flexible plastic water pipe common in repipes and new homes. Learn more about PEX.

Pinhole leak

A tiny hole in a pipe wall, most often in copper, that sprays or drips water. Learn more about pinhole leak.

Pipe bursting

A trenchless method that pulls a new pipe through the old one, breaking the old pipe apart as it goes. Learn more about pipe bursting.

Polybutylene

A gray plastic pipe used in many U.S. homes from about 1978 to 1997. It can break down in chlorinated water and leak. Learn more about polybutylene.

Pool shell

The concrete, plaster, vinyl or fiberglass body of a pool. Cracks in the shell are one source of pool leaks. Learn more about pool shell.

Pressure reducing valve

A valve that lowers high incoming water pressure to protect the home's pipes and fixtures. Learn more about pressure reducing valve.

Pressure test

Closing off a pipe and watching a gauge. If the pressure drops, there is a leak in that section. Learn more about pressure test.

Psi

Pounds per square inch, the unit used to measure water pressure. Learn more about psi.

R

Reroute

Abandoning a leaking pipe and running a new one along a different path, often through walls or the attic instead of under a slab. Learn more about reroute.

Return line

In a pool, the pipe that carries filtered water back into the pool through the wall jets. Learn more about return line.

Root intrusion

Tree roots growing into a sewer or water pipe through cracks or loose joints. Learn more about root intrusion.

S

Service line

The underground pipe that brings water from the public water main to a building. Learn more about service line.

Service line inventory

A record every water system must keep of service line materials, covering both the utility's part and the customer's part. Learn more about service line inventory.

Sewer camera inspection

Running a waterproof camera through a sewer line to see cracks, roots, sags and breaks. Learn more about sewer camera inspection.

Skimmer

The opening at the waterline of a pool that pulls surface water into the filter system. Learn more about skimmer.

Slab foundation

A concrete floor poured directly on the ground, with water and drain pipes running under or through it. Common in Florida. Learn more about slab foundation.

Slab leak

A leak in a water or drain pipe under or inside a concrete slab floor. Learn more about slab leak.

Sleeve

A short covering placed where a pipe passes through concrete or soil to protect it from rubbing and corrosion. Learn more about sleeve.

Solvent cement

The glue used to join CPVC and PVC pipe. It softens and fuses the pipe and fitting together. Learn more about solvent cement.

Sonde

A small transmitter pushed or pulled inside a pipe so a receiver above ground can follow the pipe's path. Learn more about sonde.

Sunshine 811

Florida's call-before-you-dig center. It tells member utilities to mark their buried lines before digging. Learn more about Sunshine 811.

T

Trace wire

A wire laid beside plastic pipe when it is buried, so a locator can find the pipe later. Learn more about trace wire.

Tracer gas

A safe gas pushed into a drained pipe. A sensor finds the leak where the gas comes up through soil or concrete. Learn more about tracer gas.

Trenchless

Repair or replacement methods that need only small access pits instead of a long open trench. Learn more about trenchless.

Tunneling

Digging under a slab from outside the house to reach a pipe without breaking the floor inside. Learn more about tunneling.

W

Water hammer

A banging noise when water stops suddenly. Repeated hammer can stress pipes and joints. Learn more about water hammer.

Water main

The large public pipe, usually under the street, that feeds many homes. The utility maintains it. Learn more about water main.

Water table

The level below which the ground is soaked with water. In coastal Sarasota it can be close to the surface. Learn more about water table.

Z

Zone valve

An irrigation valve that opens to water one zone of the yard. A valve that won't close fully leaks between cycles. Learn more about zone valve.