Underground and Yard Leak Detection in Metro Atlanta, Located Before We Dig
Water leaking underground doesn’t announce itself. It shows up as a soggy patch of grass, a water bill that doesn’t match your usage, or a meter that keeps moving after everything is turned off. By the time you can see the problem, water has been leaving your system for days — sometimes weeks.
Plumbing Express locates the source before we break ground. One targeted dig at the confirmed failure point, not a trench across your lawn.
Is Water Leaking Underground in Your Yard?
Most underground leaks don’t look like a gushing pipe. They show up as patterns over time. The following signs point to an active leak somewhere between the city meter and your home.
Unexplained wet or soggy patches in the yard, with no recent rain
Water pooling near the meter box or along the foundation
A noticeable drop in water pressure inside the house
A water bill that climbed with no change in your household usage
Your water meter is still moving after all fixtures and appliances are off
A sound of running water near the meter or along the water line path
The meter test is the simplest way to check. Turn off every faucet, appliance, and fixture in the house. Go outside and watch the meter dial or flow indicator. If it is still moving, water is going somewhere it should not be.
Underground Water Leaks We Find and Fix
Water Main Line Leaks
Your water main is the supply line running from the city meter to your home. It runs underground, typically 18 to 36 inches below grade, and can fail from pipe age, shifting soil, corrosion, or root intrusion over time.
A main line leak runs constantly. Day and night, water escapes into the ground while your meter records every gallon. The surrounding soil erodes with each passing day, and the pressure loss eventually reaches your fixtures inside the house.
Georgia’s clay soil makes this worse. Clay expands when wet and contracts during dry stretches, and Metro Atlanta gets plenty of both. That constant movement stresses buried pipes and accelerates failure, particularly in older lines that were not sleeved or protected at installation.
Water Service Line Leaks
The service line runs between the meter and the point where the pipe enters your home’s foundation. Failures here show up as high water bills, pressure loss, or visible wet ground between the meter box and the house.
As the homeowner, the service line on your side of the meter is your financial responsibility. The city or county is responsible for their side. If your meter is running but your usage hasn’t changed, the problem is most likely in this section of line.
How We Find Underground Leaks
Pinpoint Detection Before Any Digging Starts
We start with an on-site assessment: where the line runs, what symptoms you are seeing, and how the meter is behaving. From there, the situation determines what comes next.
Pressure isolation testing is often the first diagnostic step. It confirms an active leak exists and narrows down which section of line is affected. In straightforward cases, this gives us enough information to locate the problem and move to repair.
When more precision is needed, we bring in acoustic detection equipment — a ground microphone that picks up the sound of pressurized water escaping through soil and turf. We use it when the situation calls for it, not as a default on every job.
The goal is always the same: identify the exact failure point before any digging starts. One targeted excavation at the confirmed location, not exploratory guesswork.
We show you what we found and walk you through your repair options before any work begins.
Underground Leak Repair Options
Sub-Surface Spot Repair
When the leak is isolated to a single point and the rest of the line is in good condition, we excavate at the marked location, repair the failed section, backfill, and restore the surface. This is the right call for a localized failure on a line that is otherwise sound.
Water Main Line Replacement
For older lines showing widespread deterioration, a spot repair addresses one failure while leaving the rest of the aging pipe in place. A full water line replacement eliminates the problem entirely and removes the risk of repeated failures in the same run. We assess the line’s condition on-site and walk you through whether replacement makes more sense than repair for your situation.
Water main line work typically requires a county or city permit. We handle the permit process as part of the job.
What Underground Leak Detection and Repair Costs
There is no dispatch fee for a yard leak call. Costs depend on what the situation requires.
⦾ Initial assessment and pressure isolation testing: $195
⦾ Acoustic sub-surface detection (30 min): $257
⦾ Acoustic sub-surface detection (1 hour): $502
We use the method the situation calls for. You are not charged for equipment that wasn’t needed.
⦾ Sub-surface spot repair (up to a 2’x2’x18″ excavation area): starting at $988
⦾ Full water main line replacement: custom-quoted based on pipe length, depth, material, and surface conditions
Factors that affect the final cost: how deep the line runs, how far the failure point is from the meter, local permit fees, and what surface restoration is required — sod, concrete, or landscaping.
In some cases, your diagnostic fee can be applied toward the cost of repair. Ask us about this when you call.
What Atlanta Homeowners Say About Plumbing Express
Our 4.9-star rating comes from 2,000+ Google reviews written by real homeowners across Metro Atlanta. Here is what a few of them had to say.
Read more reviews on Google or visit our customer reviews page to see why Atlanta homeowners choose Plumbing Express.
Service couldn’t be completed due to needing a new system. We appreciate the very informative visit as well as insight that could help after a new unit install.
Plumbing Express was great. I had a failed sump pump that had partially overflowed into the basement. Nasty. Josh was the tech that did the work. He was efficient, neat and courteous. I will use Plumbing Express if I have any other plumbing needs and I will recommend them to my family and friends.
The technician was very knowledgeable and professional. I believe they did a very good job.
Ron was our second plumber from this company. The first plumber came, examined pipes and said he found no leak, even though we had experiences a large amount of water leaking from the ceiling in the finished basement. Several days later we had another leak-same area but less water the second time. Ron came in, listened to our frustration and did a more thorough inspection of the pipes and identified the problem. He was very personable and professional. On his third visit, we had several replacement pipes installed and are without leaks again. Our frustration, with the situation, was my son had used your company to replace pipes when he purchased the home and founding out not all the pipes were included with that process.
Tim arrived on time and was very professional. He took his time to explain the problem and the process it would take fix the water line.
Called Plumbing Express as tankless hot water not operating. Their website states "Get Free Plumbing Quote ". When service man showed up an looked at unit he said there would be a $207 charge to look into unit in order to give me a quote to fix unit. Due to not having hot water and time required to get another company to address the problem I agreed to pay $207 for quote. After looking in unit I was told he would not be able to fix due to age of unit and parts not available. I think he should have said parts not available when seeing model number on front of unit and I would not have wasted $207.
Outstanding customer service, we will definitely be using them in the future for any plumbing needs. Can’t thank them enough!
Extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. The team was excellent. The job was completed in 1 day with a great team. Very expressive.
Daniel Perez was great in coming out to check the problem I had with a water leak from my air conditioner line. His recommendation was correct.
Great and informative service while I was in a bind without a functioning water heater.
Plumbing Express is my go-to plumbing support team. They have fair pricing, well-vetted technicians, and a truly exceptional scheduling system. Rod, my technician, was the best. He quickly assessed the problem and gave a fair estimate, working hard to keep to the schedule. He even brought Josh along on the day of service, and the two of them worked well together. They addressed the bathtub drain repair with expertise and caused the least sheetrock damage. It was difficult to replace the broken pipe and get to the upstairs drain, but together they made it a success.
Daniel did a great job and was very professional during his service call last week!
Rod and Josh did an awesome job taking care of my clogged sinks. Knowledgable, professional and great to work with - I really appreciated their help today and would highly recommend them and Plumbing Express!
Daniel was excellent. The work he did was simply superb. I highly recommend your company and hopefully Daniel will get more and more work
Dylan from Plumbing Express came over and replaced our garbage disposal for us. It was older, had a massive leak, and needed to be replaced. He did a great job and was in and out in about 30 minutes! I also asked him to check out a potential leak I had been hearing in my ceiling. He used a thermal camera to investigate and was very honest and upfront about what he found. Rather than immediately cutting into the drywall to confirm something uncertain, he explained that the sound could simply be pipes expanding and that opening the wall might be unnecessary. He recommended monitoring the area and waiting to see if a wet spot appears, which would clearly indicate an actual leak. I really appreciated that he didn’t try to upsell or push unnecessary work. Overall, great service and a great guy. They will definitely be our go-to plumbing service from now on.
Once again we had some problems under our kitchen sink so we called Plumbing Express who were able to get us on their schedule pretty quickly after these storms Tim Robinson came out to do the job. Tim has been to our house for a number of different plumbing problems. He is personable & professional. As usual he did a great job even though this particular problem turned out to be far more difficult than anyone had expected. As frustrating as it was, Tim worked through it until he finished the job. We can't thank him enough.
Anthony was very competent, professional and friendly. He answered all my questions throughly. Highly recommend!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for a water main leak — me or the city?
It depends on where the leak is. The water utility owns and maintains the line from the city main to the meter. Everything from the meter to your home is the homeowner’s responsibility. If your meter is on the property line and the wet ground is on your side of it, the repair is yours. We can help you confirm the leak location and document it if there is any question about jurisdiction.
Will you have to dig up my whole yard to find the leak?
No. We locate the leak before any digging starts. Our diagnostic process narrows the failure point to a specific location so the excavation is targeted, not exploratory. Most yard leak repairs involve a small, contained dig rather than a trench.
How do I know if my high water bill is from a yard leak or an indoor leak?
The meter test is a good starting point. Turn off everything in the house and watch the meter. If it is moving, you have a leak somewhere in the system. If you have already checked toilets and faucets indoors, and the meter still runs, an underground line is the likely source. A diagnostic visit will confirm it.
Can a yard leak damage my foundation?
Yes. A leak near the foundation can erode soil, undermine footings, and contribute to foundation movement over time. If you are seeing wet ground near the house wall or along the foundation, treat it as urgent. The longer it runs, the more the surrounding soil is affected.
Do you handle irrigation or sprinkler line leaks?
No. Our underground leak detection and repair services cover water main lines and residential supply lines. We do not service irrigation or sprinkler systems.
Our Service Areas
Serving Metro Atlanta, North Georgia, and Surrounding Communities
Plumbing Express provides plumbing, repiping, water heater, and drain cleaning services to homeowners across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia. Our licensed plumbers know the plumbing systems in this region, from aging polybutylene pipes in 1980s subdivisions to clay sewer lines in older neighborhoods.
We serve the following counties and communities:
Don’t see your city listed? We likely serve your area too. Visit our full service area page or call (678) 439-9540 to confirm availability at your address.
Schedule a Yard Leak Service in Atlanta, GA Today
A yard leak doesn’t fix itself. The longer it runs, the more water you lose and the more the surrounding soil erodes. If you are seeing the signs, the fastest thing you can do is call.