Water Meter Leak Indicator Going Back And Forth

Is the only cause of this a leak somewhere.

Water meter leak indicator going back and forth. All is well with your system. I looked at the meter next to it just for comparison it was stopped and steady. As pressure changes in the water main the pressure will equalize in your house causing the meter to fluctuate a bit back and forth. If it twists slowly back and forth that can be caused by fluctuations in water pressure and is not a leak indicator.

If it is moving forward clockwise there is water flow. Do you have a pressure reducing valve prv. Each time it moved forward backwards forward it ended up a little past where it was. That said i ve never seen it happen quite that much.

I think it is water pressure fluctuations in the system. Backflow can occur due to either back pressure or back siphonage which are essentially too high or too low of pressure in the system. If you walk out to your water meter and notice the area around it is wet and soggy or you see standing water and puddles then you have a leak with the water from the main line coming into your home. Thursday june 21 2018 most water meters have a leak detection spinner in the shape of a triangle star or arrow that can show low level water flow.

If the leak indicator or dial hand is still rotating then water is flowing somewhere between the meter and the shut off valve. When the pressure rises more water is forced into the home. When the pressure increases some water goes into your system to equalize the pressure which makes the dial tick forward. So we are now back to the meter face now check if the meter s leak detector hand is moving.

Today i saw something new. I recently noticed that the red triangle on the face of my water meter was moving back and forth by about 3 4 of a revolution. You ll often see this when someone on your block turns on their sprinkler system or a fire hydrant is opened. Backflow is when water flows incorrectly in the wrong direction.

There are several external signs that you can look for around your water meter to determine if you have a leak. I have seen the flow indicator on older mechanical meters show a back and forth surging so i would say it s normal. If the meter is installed backwards the meter will do that. On my inspections i always look at the water meter to see if the flow needle is stopped when all the water is off in the home.

So if there is a pressure build up from the street it would force water into the house and then the wheel would go backwards as the pressure equalizes. I didn t have any fixtures etc turned on while this was happening. The flow needle was turning slowly forward then backwards stopping then forward then backwards and stopping it just kept doing that. It could be on the city side and if that is the case then you won t be charged.

Then when the pressure decreases water flows out. When the pressure drops then the excess pressure in your system flows backwards again to equalize the pressures which makes the dial tick backwards.