Leaks and Leakage FAQs
A leaking pipe can cause serious damage, whether it's obvious or not. Leaks may cause structural damage to your home and lead to costly repairs. Your water pressure may be reduced, and your water quality could be affected too. Left unresolved, leaks can also lead to subsidence or ground collapse around your property. Beyond your home, wasting our precious natural resource has a negative impact on the environment — water is always worth saving.
In Scotland, your water charges are included in your council tax — so a leak won't cause a separate bill to go up. However, leaks waste water and can cause damage to the ground around your property, so it's still important to get them sorted. Scottish Water is publicly owned, and reporting a leak helps us protect the water supply for everyone.
If the leak is on Scottish Water's network (the main or the communication pipe), we'll repair it at no cost to you. If it's on your supply pipe, it's your responsibility to repair. You have two options: you can arrange your own repair using a WaterSafe-approved plumber, or alternatively we may be able to offer an assisted repair through our supply pipe repair policy — our contractors carry out the work for you. You can read more in our Customer Leakage factsheet.
If you can see water leaking on a road, pavement, or public land, that's our responsibility. Please report it using the online form. Try to note the location as precisely as you can — a street name, house number, or nearby landmark all help.
Pressure management is one of the ways Scottish Water reduces leakage across the network. By carefully controlling the pressure of water flowing through the pipes - particularly overnight, when demand is lower - we put less stress on older pipework and reduce the volume of water lost through small leaks. For most customers there's no noticeable difference. If you do experience a sustained drop in pressure at the tap, please let us know so we can check it.
A leak is unlikely to be an emergency, but it's best not to leave it. The longer a leak goes unreported, the more water is wasted and the more damage it could do to the ground around the pipe. Report it when you can — ideally today.
Scotland's weather can certainly make things damp. But if one patch stays wet when the rest of the garden dries out, or if it appears in a spot that doesn't usually collect water, that's worth reporting. We'd rather check and rule it out than have you worrying.
Completely okay. Most people don't. Your internal stop valve (sometimes called a stopcock) is a tap, usually under the kitchen sink, that lets you turn off the water supply to your house. Your supply pipe is the underground pipe that brings water from the boundary of your property to your home. You don't need to know all the details — just report what you've noticed and we'll guide you through the rest.
It's worth checking, but every situation is different. Leaks in the same street don't necessarily mean the same thing. If you've noticed any of the signs on this page, report it so we can look into it for your property specifically.
If you need a plumber for a repair on your supply pipe, we recommend using the WaterSafe directory. WaterSafe plumbers are approved by water companies across the UK and qualified to work on your water supply. You can search by postcode to find one near you.
Most supply pipe leaks happen underground and produce no visible signs at the surface. Our specialist equipment can detect the sound of water escaping from a pipe even when you can't see or hear anything yourself. That's exactly why we carry out these surveys — to find leaks before they cause noticeable problems.
At this stage, we're not sure - that's what the visit is for. The leak could be on our network or on your supply pipe. The investigation will help us work out exactly where the leak is and who is responsible. We'll tell you clearly once we know.
The investigation visit itself is voluntary - you are not legally obliged to let us in. We'd strongly encourage you to let us check, because catching a leak early prevents damage to your property and the wider network. However, if our investigation does confirm a leak on your supply pipe, repairing it is not optional: under the Water (Scotland) Act, you are legally obliged to put the leak right.
No problem. Call us on 0800 0778 778 and give your address. We'll be able to confirm whether we are working in your area and arrange an appointment from there.
We understand the concern - an unexpected card can feel suspicious. Scottish Water is publicly owned by the Scottish Government, and many of our leakage visits are carried out by partner contractors working on our behalf. Our teams will never ask for payment at your door. If you want reassurance, call us on 0800 0778 778 and quote the service appointment number on your card. We'll confirm whether we are working in your area.
