Underground Leak Detection

A leak in the yard rarely announces itself the way a leak inside your house does. It shows up as a soggy patch, a sinkhole, or a bill that keeps drifting upward on its own. Our underground leak detection team pinpoints the exact spot in your yard or service line, no guesswork involved.

Utility Lines Marked Before We Dig
Small Digs, Not Full Trenches
Same Day Service
Licensed Crew

The Line Between The Meter And Your House

Most people assume their water company is responsible for every pipe outside their home. In reality, the line between the street meter and your house is usually the homeowner’s line, and that stretch runs entirely out of sight underground.

A break anywhere along that run can leak for weeks before it ever becomes obvious above ground.

Along with underground leak detection, our Torrance team also handles slab leak detection, sewer leak detection, and commercial leak detection. Whatever the source of your water loss, we pinpoint it accurately before any digging or repair begins — see all our leak detection services.

Whose responsibility is a leak in the yard, mine or the water company’s?Generally the water company owns the main up to the meter, and everything from the meter to your house is on you. That underground service line is exactly what we specialize in locating and repairing.

Signs Of A Leak In Your Yard Or Service Line

None of these confirm it alone, but a couple together is worth a look.

A Soggy Patch That Never Dries Out

One part of the lawn stays wet no matter how dry the weather has been.

A Sinkhole Or Soft, Sinking Ground

Soil that has washed out from underneath and settled.

Grass That Grows Greener In One Strip

A line of unusually lush grass can trace the exact path of a leaking pipe.

Low Pressure Throughout The House

Water escaping before it ever reaches your fixtures.

A Bill That Keeps Rising For No Reason

Usage habits stay the same, but the number does not.

Can grass really show where an underground pipe is leaking?Yes. A leaking line feeds extra water to the soil above it, and grass along that path often grows thicker or greener than the grass around it.

What Causes A Line To Fail Underground

A few common culprits account for most of what we find.

Tree Roots Chasing Moisture

Roots grow toward any source of water, and a service line is an easy target once a root finds its way in.

Soil That Shifts With The Seasons

Ground that swells when wet and pulls back when dry puts constant strain on a buried line.

Old Galvanized Or Copper Runs

Original service lines from decades ago were never built to last as long as they’ve been asked to.

Nearby Construction Or Digging

Even a small disturbance near a buried line can crack a joint that was otherwise fine.

Are tree roots really strong enough to break into a water pipe?Yes, especially at an existing joint or a hairline crack. Roots follow moisture, and once one finds a weak point it works its way in and widens the damage over time.

How We Locate It Without Trenching Your Yard

Digging blind means tearing up landscaping to chase a guess. We scan first so the dig is small and exact.

Sound Tracing

A pressurized line leaking underground makes a distinct sound that the right listening equipment can pinpoint.

Ground Microphones

For longer runs, ground mics narrow the leak down to a specific section before anyone touches a shovel.

Tracer Gas

On tricky or deep lines, a harmless gas surfaces through the soil directly above the break.

Utility Locating First

Before any digging, we mark existing gas, electric, and other utility lines so nothing gets hit by accident.

Do you have to dig up my whole yard to find the leak?No. Sound and gas tracing narrow the leak to a small, specific section, so the actual dig is usually just a couple feet wide.

Repair Options For A Service Line

Spot Repair

We dig down at the exact break and repair or replace that section of pipe.

Full Line Replacement

For an older line with more than one failure point, replacing the whole run start to finish is often the better long term call.

Is it cheaper to keep patching one leak at a time, or replace the whole line?A single isolated break usually favors a spot repair. But a line that keeps failing in different spots often costs more over time than one full replacement would.

Protecting Your Landscaping

We know a yard is not just dirt. Mature landscaping, sprinkler systems, and hardscape all factor into how we plan the dig.

Will you damage my sprinklers or landscaping to get to the leak?We plan the dig around what’s already there whenever possible, and anything that has to be moved gets put back the way we found it.

How A Yard Visit Unfolds

1. You Describe What You’ve Noticed

A wet patch, a bill, a sound. Any detail points us in the right direction.

2. We Mark Utilities And Scan First

Existing lines get marked, then sound and gas tracing narrow the leak down.

3. We Confirm The Exact Spot

No digging starts until the location is locked in.

4. You Approve The Plan

A clear number and a small, defined dig area before any work begins.

5. We Restore The Area

Once the repair is done, we put the ground back the way we found it.

Underground Leaks We’ve Found

A Yard With A Sinking Wet Spot

A soggy corner of lawn that never dried out traced back to a cracked service line, found with sound tracing in under an hour.

A Driveway Edge Leak

Month after month the bill crept higher, and the trail led to a leak running along the edge of a driveway, confirmed with tracer gas before any concrete was disturbed.

A Root Damaged Line

A mature tree’s roots had worked into an old galvanized line, found and repaired with minimal disruption to the tree itself.

Where We Locate Underground Leaks

We locate yard and service line leaks throughout the service area.

Underground Leak Questions We Hear Most

What homeowners tend to ask before a yard visit.

Book A Yard Inspection (424) 699-0818
How long can a service line leak run in the yard before it actually shows up above ground?
Weeks, sometimes longer, especially in a yard with good drainage. A bill that keeps ticking upward is usually the first thing people actually notice, well before any wet spot appears.
Does an older home really carry more risk for this kind of leak than a newer one?
Yes. Original galvanized or early copper service lines have had decades for corrosion and root intrusion to take hold, far more than a newer plastic or copper line would see.
Once the leak is located, how big of a hole are we actually talking about?
Usually just a couple feet across, right at the confirmed spot. Locating it accurately is what keeps the dig small.
Should I plan to be around while the yard is being scanned?
Not for the scanning itself. Most people like to hear the findings walked through in person, but the locating work doesn’t need anyone watching over it.
Is there anything I can check myself before calling?
Walk your yard after a few dry days and look for any patch that stays damp or unusually green. That’s often the first visible clue before a bill even changes.

Talk To Our Underground Leak Team Today

A soggy patch of lawn or a rising bill deserves a look before the repair grows along with it. Reach our underground leak detection team, walk us through what caught your eye, and get an exact answer with your yard left mostly untouched.

558 Amapola Ave, Torrance, CA 90501