You hear water running, or the meter moves when nothing is on
Hidden leaks rarely announce themselves. A toilet flapper that no longer seals lets water trickle into the bowl around the clock. A worn faucet cartridge drips into a sink nobody uses. A fitting behind a washing machine seeps into the subfloor. None of these feel like an emergency, but over a month they add thousands of gallons to a bill, and on a City of Jasper account with city sewer each gallon is charged twice.
The good news is that the two most useful tests cost nothing and take less than an hour. The City of Jasper publishes a simple dye test for toilets, and a meter test tells you whether any water is leaving the system when every fixture is off. This page walks through both, then lists the places to look once you know a leak exists.
The City of Jasper toilet dye test
In a November 2024 notice the City of Jasper wrote that toilet leaks can waste up to 72,000 gallons of water a year and that even a slow leak can be impactful. Its test is straightforward. Remove the toilet tank cover. Add a dye tablet or a few drops of food coloring into the tank. Wait at least 15 minutes without flushing. Then look into the bowl. If color has appeared, a leak is present and repairs are needed.
Repeat the test on every toilet in the house, including the one in the basement that rarely gets used. The most common fix is a new flapper or fill valve, which many homeowners replace themselves; a cracked tank, a leaking supply line or a loose connection at the floor is a job for a plumber. The Pickens County water department makes the same recommendation, suggesting one drop of food coloring in the back of the tank and noting that a toilet leak can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day.
The meter test for everything else
Turn off every faucet, appliance and irrigation timer. Look at the water meter and note the reading or watch the leak indicator if the meter has one. If it moves with nothing running, water is escaping somewhere downstream of the meter. Close your main shutoff at the house and look again: if the meter stops, the leak is inside the house; if it keeps moving, the leak is probably in the buried service line between the meter and the foundation.
That distinction matters for who you call. Lines on the customer's side of the meter are private, and the Pickens County rate sheet states that the water authority is not responsible for water loss on the customer's side. The City of Jasper's AMI meters, described on its Water & Sanitation page, transmit consumption to City Hall, so a city customer can ask the office when usage first rose.
Water still moving? Close your own shutoff valve first, then send a Free Quote Request.
Free Quote RequestWhat a small leak costs at Jasper rates
Small numbers add up. The county water page says a faucet dripping once a second can waste 2,700 gallons a year and a pinhole leak, such as one in a hose, up to 170 gallons a day. On a City of Jasper account inside the limits, use between 2,001 and 5,000 gallons in a month is billed at $3.40 per 1,000 gallons, and the bands above it cost more. Enter your own leak rate in the leak cost calculator to see the monthly effect for city or county accounts.
| Leak or use | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet leak | Up to 72,000 gallons a year | City of Jasper notice, Nov. 21, 2024 |
| Toilet leak | Up to 200 gallons a day | Pickens County Water page |
| Pinhole leak, such as a hose | Up to 170 gallons a day | Pickens County Water page |
| Faucet dripping one drop per second | 2,700 gallons a year | Pickens County Water page |
| Leaks as a share of average daily household use | 13.8% | Pickens County Water page |
| Toilets as a share of average daily household use | 27.7% | Pickens County Water page |
Where else to look
Once the toilets pass, work through the rest of the house. Check under every sink for damp cabinet floors. Look at the water heater for water at the base or a dripping temperature and pressure relief line; a relief valve that discharges often can signal high pressure or overheating and is worth a plumber's visit. Look behind the washing machine and the refrigerator ice maker line. Walk the route of the service line from the meter to the house for soft or unusually green ground. Outside, check spigots, hose connections and every irrigation zone.
If you cannot find the source and the meter keeps moving, a plumber with leak-detection equipment can locate buried or in-wall leaks. The Free Quote Request on this page sends your details to an independent plumber who serves Pickens County.
Keeping records while you test
Write down the meter reading, the date and the time before and after each test, and take a photo of the dial. If a test shows a leak, note which fixture it came from and when it was fixed, and keep the receipt for any parts or plumbing work. Those notes help a plumber narrow down a hidden leak, and they are the kind of documentation a utility asks for when a customer requests a review of a high bill. Repeat the meter test a day after a repair to confirm the leak is really gone, because a flapper or fill valve that was only partly fixed can keep leaking slowly.
After you find it
Fix the leak, then repeat the meter test to confirm the system is tight. Keep the repair receipt and note the dates. Pickens County customers whose leak pushed consumption above 40,000 gallons may be able to use the authority's one-time leak adjustment; see the leak adjustment guide. City of Jasper customers should call City Hall about payment options, and the high water bill guide explains what each utility publishes.
Where these facts come from: City of Jasper News: Is Your Toilet Running? (dye test, November 21, 2024); City of Jasper: Water & Sanitation department page (contacts, forms, reconnection notice); City of Jasper: Water and Sewer Rate Schedule, effective August 1, 2024 (PDF); Pickens County, GA: Water department page (billing, disconnect schedule, water-loss facts); Pickens County Water & Sewer Authority: Water Rates & Meter Fees, effective January 1, 2024 (Water Rate Sheet, PDF); Pickens County Water and Sewer Authority: Policy #8, Leak Adjustments (amended February 20, 2023, PDF). Checked 2026-10-26.
Describe the problem once. Independent plumbers who work in Pickens County can follow up.
Free Quote RequestQuestions Pickens County homeowners ask
How do I do the City of Jasper toilet dye test?
Remove the tank cover, add a dye tablet or a few drops of food coloring to the tank, wait at least 15 minutes without flushing, and check the bowl for color.
How much water can a leaking toilet waste?
The City of Jasper says up to 72,000 gallons a year; the Pickens County water department says up to 200 gallons a day.
Is a leak between the meter and my house the utility's problem?
No. The Pickens County rate sheet says the authority is not responsible for water loss on the customer's side of the meter, and that line is a private repair.