Water Leak Cost Calculator

The water leak cost can be very relevant in some situations, for example swimming pool leak detection – a water meter is often involved in those situation because of water company rules. We discuss this in our guide to finding water leaks early.

If you want to understand how much water something like a swimming pool will need, have a look at our water volume calculator. Also, we have a useful article explaining water flow meters vs water pressure meters. Plus a guide to drinking water test kits.

As you can see from the calculator, a water leak cost soon adds up!

Let’s use an example:

• Someone with ‘Medium’ / Average Water Pressure of 12 litres per minute.
• With a ‘Medium Spray’ Leak letting out 10% of that 12 litres per minute
• Which is clearly 1.2 litres per minute
• That’s not much right? Until you see that….
• It is 72 litres an hour, 1,728 litres a day, 52,704 litres a month
• That is a staggering 630,720 litres per year!
• To put that into perspective…
• An average bathtub in the UK holds around 100 litres (up to the overflow)
• So that leak would fill the bathtub in around 83.3 minutes
• So it would ‘fill’ that bathtub just over 17 times a day
• Or 527 times a month, 63,072 times a year
• Clearly that amount of water could do serious damage to your property.
• That’s why you should get a water leak checked ASAP – contact us today!
• We have other useful tools to help understand water leaks too
• This is including our free water meter reading tool

On this subject of water leak costs, check out our article which looks at how much water items around the house hold or use. The results might surprise you!

We also discuss this topic in our article about loft tanks leaking.

Water Cost Per Litre

How much you pay per litre (or meter cubed / m³ as they often show it) – of water will depend. These are often called volumetric charges by the water companies. Firstly, this will assume you are on a water meter at your property and that we are talking domestic.

Different companies across the UK charge different amounts (including for standing charge which is separate, as is sewage charges generally or other charges) but, at the time of updating this in late 2024, here are a few examples (do check for the latest and your own situation / location etc) from what we can quickly see:

• Anglian Water Cost per cubic metre varies according to their document
• Northern Ireland Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.362
• Northumbrian Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.392
• Scottish Water Cost is £2.9818 (first 25m³) and £1.0804 after that
• Severn Trent Water Cost per cubic metre is shown differently it seems
• Southern Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.716
• South West Water Cost per cubic metre is £2.0714
• Thames Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.9145
• United Utilities Cost per cubic metre is £2.164
• Welsh Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.3419
• Yorkshire Water Cost per cubic metre is £1.7957
• Although those costs vary, when you think about it, they are all fractions of a penny per litre which is much cheaper than you’d likely pay for bottled water.
• Remember, our water leak cost calculator is based on £1.70 per cubic meter which is fairly average for the list shown above.

Something that is worth looking at is to see what your water company’s policy is on water leaks, we spotted that Severn Trend for example have a ‘leakage allowance’ comment on their website. On that page, they mention that they will review claims to see if they can cover the cost of any water lost due to leaks. Definitely something to look out for.

Note – we have added a link to each of these so you can check the latest figures as they are published with each of the water companies and so you can see how your water leak cost may vary per company. Charges vary over time too so they will change likely. We will check this from time to time too and update assumptions in our water leak cost calculator intermittently.

If you want to see another interesting video, see our Slow Motion Water collection or our useful article about what a dew point chart is and how it is used. Similarly, a really informative piece on the subject of a Water Testing Kit.

Another calculator we have is our Boiler Pressure Low? – Leak Calculator and also:

Similarly, we also have our – Bathroom Extractor Fan Calculator

Who pays for water leak repair?

The person or company who pays for water leak repair will depend. That said, usually if it is a water leak outside of your property boundary, your local water company will most likely be responsible. However, if it is on your land (even outside water leaks) are more likely to be your responsibility to find and repair them. Remember though that the cost may be covered by your home insurance.

How is a water leak rate calculated?

Water leak volumes and cost are most commonly calculated by a combination of water meters, which usually measure in cubic meters (1,000 litres) or fractions of that to see how much water is being used when nothing else is using water in your home or business. This is then multiplied by whatever the unit cost is for your local water company.

Do I have to pay for leaked water?

Whether you have to pay for leak water on your property will vary according to what your supplier is for your water, what their terms are, whether you are on a meter and a number of other factors (for example some companies have a ‘leakage allowance’ so it is best to check with your supplier and their documented terms.