Expert: Cortez (cort) Cate - 1/17/2006

Question
We live in Justin, Texas. It is in North Central Texas, close to Dallas. We are on a well and have a septic tank with lateral lines. We have a gas water heater, a sprinkler system.  Our problem is that we hear water running in the house where there is plumbing. We have turned the water off where we can and still hear it. We have checked all of the obvious places for a leak. We have turned the water heater off and still the sound. Please help.

Answer
Hi Cathy,

Just have to get systematic on this one and trace it out. We can allude to the old saying that if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then most likely it is a duck. You hear what sounds like a leak so we have to assume you have a leak.

In my experience the culprit is usually a water closet ball-cock or tank fill mechanism. That is probably wishful thinking for your situation since I am sure you have already investigated the toilet tank(s). If by some chance you have not then by all means check them…What usually happens is that you will see water running or trickling inside the bowl. It can be very slight. If this happens then water is of course leaking out of the tank through the flapper and flush valve. When enough water leaks the ball-cock will reactivate and refill the toilet tank thus the sound of water running when no one has used the system. Now in the case of the FluidMaster ball cock or tank fill assembly (ball-cock is not a good name for the FluidMaster because it does not use a ball but the float rides around the upright fill mechanism; there is a common problem when the relief line (a little ¼ inch tube that comes off the top of the fill valve and dumps into the flush valve stand pipe [a ¾ - 1” tube that this ¼ tube is supposed to attach to] is just stuck down in the stand pipe. That is a no no. The ¼ inch tube must have an air-gap where it dumps into the standpipe, It (the tube) cannot be immersed in water inside the standpipe or the tank itself for that matter. In the case of the FluidMaster it will siphon water out of the tank into the toilet bowl and the valve will come on mysteriously when the water level in the tank is reduced enough to activate the fill valve. I hope this all makes sense to you but the directions on installing a fluidmaster are included with the valve.

It was strictly speculation what I have given you above and I usually will not take the time to do that without evidence that it may be relevant to your problem. If that is not the problem then you have to determine how much water you are loosing and when. The well pump is a telltale and if it is coming on often when you are not using water you can get some idea of how much is leaking.

I would buy a stethoscope at Wall-Greens or WalMart and start tracing the noise from the well forward. Find the first place you hear it and you are on the track to finding the problem.

Good luck,

cort