HTHOMETALLYTHE PRACTICAL HOME GUIDE

Wells & water/ CALCULATOR

Water lost through a leak

Turn an observed leak flow and daily duration into water volume and an estimated bill impact.

Tools & meters
Catch the leak in a measured container, or use the change on a water meter over a timed interval.
Use 24 for a continuous leak or the estimated daily duration for an intermittent fault.
Use the number of days over which you want to estimate the loss.
Add both volumetric charges when wastewater is billed from metered water use.
Water lost per day

360.0 L/day

Water lost in selected period

10.80 m³

Estimated selected-period cost

27.00 currency units

Annual loss if unchanged

131.4 m³/year

Annual cost if unchanged

328.50 currency/year

The measured flow and daily duration stay constant. The price is a simple volumetric rate; fixed fees, tariff tiers, minimum bills, leak allowances and damage costs are excluded. Isolate the fixture or branch and repair an unexplained continuous flow promptly.

Tools for these measurements

Prepare the measurements with these instrument guides.

Schematic water meter showing the fictional cumulative reading 1246.600 m³; not a real meter photograph
Water meter: read volume, not flow

Identify the cumulative register, preserve its units and decimals, and build a usable record without mistaking a short observation for a leak diagnosis.

How to use it

FROM ESTIMATE TO ACTION

Use the result, not just the number.

01

Measure a volume over a timed interval

Safely collect accessible drips, or compare meter readings while taps and water-using appliances are inactive. Divide litres by minutes: 1 L in 4 min is 0.25 L/min. Convert a meter change in m³ to litres first. Repeat the check; meter movement shows unexplained use, not the leak’s location.

02

Match flow to its daily duration

Use flow while leaking with the hours it actually leaks each day. If your measurement already averages active and inactive periods over a representative full day, use that average with 24 hours; do not apply the duty fraction twice. The annual result always assumes 365 days of the same daily pattern, independent of the selected period; it is not a prediction.

03

Check charges and verify the repair

Use applicable volumetric charges per m³; add wastewater only if the utility bills it from that water use. Fixed fees, tariff tiers and leak credits are not calculated, so the result is not an actual bill or guaranteed saving. Repeat the same no-use meter check after repair; do not wait for the cost estimate before addressing ongoing leakage.

Inputs to verify

Observed leak flow (L/min)
Catch the leak in a measured container, or use the change on a water meter over a timed interval.
Hours leaking per day (h/day)
Use 24 for a continuous leak or the estimated daily duration for an intermittent fault.
Billing or observation period (days)
Use the number of days over which you want to estimate the loss.
Combined water and wastewater price (currency/m³)
Add both volumetric charges when wastewater is billed from metered water use.

Continue your calculation

Wells & water

Water use from two meter readings

Calculate recorded water use, litres per day and litres per person from two readings of the same meter, rather than an assumed household demand.