A bloke in Casula rang me on a Sunday morning because his front lawn was a swamp and the water meter box was full to the brim. He'd turned the meter tap off, which was the right call, and wanted to know one thing: was this his problem or Sydney Water's? Fair question. I spent years on the Sydney Water side of that meter before I started Monarch in South West Sydney, and the answer is simpler than most people think. Here's how to read your water meter, test it for leaks, and who fixes what on each side of it. If you want it found today, we are a leak detection plumber, no call-out fee, across South West Sydney.
Sydney Water owns the meter and fixes anything between the street main and the meter, up to about a metre inside your boundary, at no charge. Everything after the meter is yours and a licensed plumber fixes it. Read the black digits for kilolitres; if the red digits move while every tap is off, you have a leak.
Who owns the water meter, and who fixes what
Sydney Water owns your water meter. They install it, read it about every three months, and replace it when it stops or wears out, free. They also look after the pipe from the street main to the meter, and repair leaks on it for free, up to about a metre inside your boundary. That's straight from Sydney Water's meter maintenance page, and it matches what I did for years in one of their vans.
Everything on the house side is yours: the private water service under the lawn, the stop tap, the pipes in the walls, the flexi hoses under the vanity. If any of it leaks, the owner pays a licensed plumber to fix it. The meter tap (the lever on the street side of the meter) sits in the middle: Sydney Water usually repairs it as a courtesy, or faster for a fee. A meter tap that's only half open is also a classic cause of low water pressure.
| Where the problem is | Who fixes it | Who to ring |
|---|---|---|
| Burst water main in the street or footpath | Sydney Water, no charge | 13 20 90, 24 hours |
| Pipe between the main and the meter | Sydney Water, usually no charge | 13 20 90 |
| The meter itself: stopped, cracked or leaking from the body | Sydney Water replaces it | 13 20 90 |
| Meter tap stiff, seized or dripping | Sydney Water as a courtesy, or your plumber | 13 20 90 or a licensed plumber |
| Pipe from the meter to the house, and everything inside | You, through a licensed plumber | A plumber |
How to read a Sydney Water meter
Most homes around Liverpool and Fairfield still have the mechanical meter under a plastic flip lid. The black digits on the white part of the dial are kilolitres (thousands of litres), and that's the only part Sydney Water bills you on. The red digits, or the small red pointers on older meters, are litres. Read the black numbers left to right, ignore the red, and that's your meter reading. On the newer digital smart meters the kilolitres sit to the left of the decimal point.
The red digits are the useful bit for finding leaks, though. The black numbers barely move day to day; the red ones tick over every time a cistern fills. And keep the box clear: Sydney Water asks for about 30 centimetres of space all around the meter, and a meter buried under a garden bed is a good way to end up with an estimated bill.
The water meter leak test
The ten-minute check to do before ringing anyone, including me. No tools needed.
- Turn off every tap and every appliance that uses water: washing machine, dishwasher, irrigation timer, the lot. Leave the meter tap on.
- Lift the lid and write down all the numbers, red included. A photo is fine.
- Don't use any water for at least an hour. Overnight is better.
- Read it again. If the red digits have moved and nobody used water, something on your side of the meter is leaking.
A moving meter tells you there's a leak, not where it is. Rule out the cheap stuff first (toilets, the hot water relief valve, garden taps, flexi hoses). If it's underground or in a wall, the search is a different job, and I've written up how that works in my guide to hidden water leak detection.
Water meter leaking: where the water is coming from matters
A wet meter box is the meter call I get most, and the fix depends on which fitting is weeping. Water from the meter body, the glass face or the coupling on the street side belongs to Sydney Water; ring them and they'll repair it or book a replacement. Water from the pipe leaving the meter towards the house is yours, and a weep at the coupling on the house side usually ends up mine too. A dripping meter tap sits in between: Sydney Water will normally fix it, but if it's seized open with a burst inside the house, ring a plumber and we'll deal with both. If the meter is still and the box fills anyway, it's usually rain, not a leak.
Burst water main or burst water service: which one is yours
People say "burst water main" for any big leak out the front, so let me split it. The main is the big pipe under the road, and it belongs to Sydney Water. Water bubbling up through the bitumen in Green Valley is a water main leak: a 13 20 90 job that costs you nothing but the phone call. Water welling up in your lawn between the meter and the house is your private water service, and that's the job I do most often with the excavator or the boring rig.
Older houses across Liverpool, Cabramatta and Fairfield often still have the original galvanised steel service, and it fails in the same spots: under the driveway, around a footing, or at the stop tap by the house. A repair on an exposed section is a straightforward dig and fix. When the pipe has had it along its whole length, I replace the service with new blue line poly, and where a driveway is in the way I bore under it with the Grundomat rather than cutting the concrete. A small pit at each end, a new pipe pulled through, and the driveway stays in one piece. Done right. Done once.
Turn the meter tap off first if the leak is bad. If it's a weep rather than a gusher, it can wait until business hours; the rate is the same with us either way. What to shut off, and in what order, is in my guide to the first ten minutes of a burst pipe.
Water meter replacement, accuracy tests and the hidden leak allowance
You can't replace your own water meter, and neither can I. It's Sydney Water's property, changed over when it stops, gets too old, or when smart meters reach your street. If you think it's over-reading, you can apply for a meter accuracy test: there's a fee, refunded if the meter is outside tolerance, but a running toilet explains a high bill far more often than a faulty meter does.
If the leak turns out to be hidden (underground, in a wall or under the slab) and a licensed plumber finds and repairs it, ask Sydney Water for a hidden leak allowance. For a house it's a credit of half the water usage charge for the most affected quarter, once every five years per property. Keep the plumber's invoice. It won't pay for the repair, but it takes the sting out of the bill.
When to call a plumber
Ring Sydney Water on 13 20 90 for anything on the street side: a burst main, a leaking meter body, a meter that's stopped. Ring a plumber when the leak test says water is going somewhere on your side and you can't see where, when water is welling up between the meter and the house, or when the meter tap is seized and you can't shut the house down. Anything gushing is an emergency call-out; a slow weep can wait for a weekday. Sydney 2026 price guides put a call-out at $69 to $170 and a burst pipe repair at $230 to $920. A full service replacement is quoted on inspection: the length of the run, what's on top of it and whether I can bore instead of dig all move the number, and you'll have it before I start.
Monarch Civil & Plumbing covers South West Sydney and the Macarthur region from our base in Austral, and I've spent enough years on both sides of the meter to tell you on the phone whose job it is. If it's mine, our leak and burst pipe repair service covers everything from a weeping stop tap to a trenchless service replacement, and the rest is under plumbing services. If you need a plumber in Casula, Liverpool or a South West Sydney plumber further out, call 0455 222 292 and I'll tell you straight whether to ring me or Sydney Water first.
Related guides: hidden water leak detection.
Need it sorted? Ring 0455 222 292 any hour or book online. Monarch Civil & Plumbing is a leak detection plumber, no call-out fee, quoted on inspection, same rate day or night.
Getting a plumber in South West Sydney?
How we work explains the no-call-out-fee promise and how a quote works. The suburb pages for plumber Liverpool, plumber Fairfield, plumber Campbelltown and plumber Camden say what we see locally, and service areas lists every suburb within about 20 km of Austral, plus Wollongong and the Illawarra regularly.
Frequently asked
Who owns the water meter on my property in Sydney?
Sydney Water owns the meter and the pipe from the street main up to it. They read it, maintain it and replace it when it stops or wears out, at no charge. They also repair leaks between the main and the meter, up to about a metre inside your boundary. Everything after the meter, including the water service to the house and all the internal plumbing, belongs to the property owner and is fixed by a licensed plumber.
How do I read my water meter?
Lift the lid and read the black digits on the white part of the dial from left to right. Those are kilolitres, which is what Sydney Water bills you on. The red digits, or the small red pointers on older meters, are litres and you can ignore them for the bill. On a digital smart meter the kilolitres are the numbers to the left of the decimal point. The red digits are handy for spotting a leak because they move first.
How do I do a water meter leak test?
Turn off every tap and every appliance that uses water, including irrigation timers and the washing machine, and leave the meter tap on. Write down all the numbers on the meter, red digits included. Don't use any water for at least an hour, or overnight if you can. Read it again. If the numbers have moved, something on your side of the meter is leaking. Check the toilets, hot water relief valve and garden taps first.
My water meter is leaking. Who do I call?
It depends on where the water is coming from. If it's the meter body, the glass face or the coupling on the street side, ring Sydney Water on 13 20 90 and they'll repair or replace it. If it's the pipe running towards the house, or usually the coupling on the house side, that's yours, so ring a licensed plumber. A dripping meter tap is usually repaired by Sydney Water as a courtesy, but a plumber can replace it faster if you're in a hurry.
Can I get my water meter replaced?
Only Sydney Water can replace a water meter, and they do it for free when the meter has stopped, is damaged or is too old. If you think it's over-reading you can apply for a meter accuracy test. There's a fee, which is refunded if the meter is found to be outside tolerance. In practice a high bill is nearly always a leak on your side, most often a running toilet, rather than a faulty meter.
Does Sydney Water give a credit for a hidden water leak?
Yes. If a licensed plumber finds and repairs a concealed leak on your side of the meter, such as a pipe underground, in a wall or under the slab, you can apply to Sydney Water for a hidden leak allowance. For a residential property it credits half the water usage charge for the most affected quarter, and each property can claim once every five years. Keep the plumber's invoice, because you'll need it for the application.
Licensed plumber and drainer based in Austral, 13+ years in the trade, working across Liverpool, Fairfield and the Macarthur region. About Paul