Is there a huge risk of water leaks??

[OMR + MIN]

Hi,

Please forgive me if i'm wrong;

Neighbours are saying we are at risk of many water leaks all over the Island.

Anyone heard any truth in it? (scandal mongering?)

Thanks

[Pub the Shack]

I’ve heard the same thing- apparently the Coronavirus attacks plastic water pipes so they eventually leak - all part of the Chinese invasion 😬

[Emmi Smith]

In my experience I have had three leaks over 10 years. I have heard that the Spanish plumbing is prone to getting leaks from time to time.The usual way of discovering you have a leak, is the amount on your water bill. If it is excessive and well above your usual monthly charge, then you usually have an undetected leak somewhere and time to investigate.  Keep an eye on the water meter. If everything in the house is turned off but the meter is spinning then you have a leak!  My house insurance covers water leaks and will even refund excessive costs caused by a leak. (Liberty insurance in my case).

[MB30]

Never had a leak in our house in over 14 years. All 20mm and 15mm plastic pipes and joints, no problem.
However in our community, we have had lots, even had all the pipes replaced!
Despite assuring us the original problem was that the pipes were not deep enough and should be bedded in sand and then tarmacked over, when redone, didn't do this to the specification quoted.
Our president was useless and didn't complain.

It is always the joints that leak because the pipes move and compress due to ground movement and varying water pressure.
We have to check inspection points regularly for leaks on the community.

[OMR + MIN]

Thanks everyone;

Been there, done it all!

Just the norm then.
Cheers

[beachlife]

You can`t always rely on the meter not spinning when you turn off the water to your house at the meter.

CAAF replaced all our community meters. Thought that was good that CAAF had a replacement maintenance scheme to replace these every number of years. However, I noticed when I turned off the water to the house at the meter the dial still moved not a great deal. It meant I could no longer rely on the meter to tell me if I had a water leak in the house. I looked at the meters of people who were away from their house (ex-pats) who visited & turned off their water at the meter. The same thing was happening to their meters.

Got a fluent Spanish speaker Belgium plumber in on the case. He was mystified as well. We decided that the meters must be faulty he had never seen this before. Went into CAAF & explained the problem. They said they would send out somebody to have a look. Eventually, he turned up. After he inspected the meter he accepted the meter was moving when it was turned off, but said it was only a little bit & would not cost much. I explained my concerns about not knowing if I had a leak. I also informed him of the whole community could have faulty meters so CAAF must be making a lot of cash for not supplying water. He just shrugged his shoulders. H suggested I could have the meter changed at my cost. I asked would CAAF guarantee that would solve the problem or I would get my Money back for the installation, he replied no. I kept the faulty meter & installed another stop cock with which I could measure whether my house was leaking water between the CAAF meter & the pipe on my supply-side before entry to the house.