The Philadelphia Water Department offers a free leak alert service to help homeowners manage their water usage and save costs. Here’s how it works:

• If we detect significant daily water use on your property after approximately 96 hours, we will notify you of a possible leak.
• You don’t have to register to receive alerts.

This service is available to customers who have our new digital meters. Once your water meter is upgraded to one of our smart point meters, the system will track your hourly, daily, and monthly water use.

Your MyPhillyWaterBill account generates an alert when your usage suggests a water leak in your property. This way, you can respond quickly and fix the issue before it becomes costly.

You no longer need to wait for your next monthly bill to spot a possible leak. We will send you an email alert or letter in the mail after four days of continuous water usage.

If you have an eBilling account, you’ll receive an email notification. If you haven’t signed up, you will receive the notification by mail.

Understanding your water usage

Our smart point meters allow you to track your everyday usage, whether it’s high or continuous.

High usage is when you use an unusual amount of water. This doesn’t mean there’s a leak and may differ from one home to the other. For example, if you’re filling up your pool for the summer, you may record higher than normal usage.

However, if you have a running toilet, you will record continuous usage, indicating a possible leak on your property. Receiving an alert could help you save hundreds of dollars on your next water bill.

What you should do

When you get an alert, you should check your water meter. There’s a blue dial on the meter that spins when water is running through. If you notice leaking pipes or faucets inside or outside your property, call a licensed and registered plumber.

Remember, even a tiny pipe leak can have a toll on your water bill, not to mention the pipe repair costs that come along. Imagine getting a $300 bill instead of your regular $50 monthly water bill.

You can count on our leak alert service to help you save costs and avoid property damage.

As mentioned earlier, this service is only available to customers with smart point meters. The Philadelphia Water Department will contact you when it’s your turn to get a meter upgrade. You can’t schedule an upgrade on your own.

For more information about smart point meters and the City’s plan to install them, visit Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) –Projects & Construction (phila.gov)

Photo credit: Dwayne Bent, Flickr