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Ground that stays soft in one place, with no sprinkler and no rain to explain it, is water arriving from somewhere below. Usually the main water line, the irrigation, or the sewer lateral, and which of the three it is decides both the urgency and who pays for it.
| What you notice | Most likely |
|---|---|
| Grass greener in a strip across the lawn | The main water line. It runs under it |
| Soft ground near the meter box | The main line, or the City’s side of it |
| Wet patch that appears after the sprinklers run | Irrigation: a lateral or a valve |
| Wet all the time, no irrigation nearby | A pressurised line, running continuously |
| A smell to it | The sewer lateral, different problem entirely |
| Wet only after rain | Drainage and grading, not plumbing |
| Sunken or settling ground | Water has been washing soil away for a while |
| Standing water on clay after watering | Often just poor drainage, clay sheds slowly |
Those four steps split the problem into the right category before anybody digs anything, and they cost nothing but a couple of days of patience.
Worth settling early, because one side of the meter is not yours to pay for.
| Section | Whose responsibility |
|---|---|
| The water main in the street | City of Santa Ana |
| The service line from the main to the meter | City of Santa Ana |
| The meter itself | City of Santa Ana |
| From the meter to your house | Property owner. You |
| Irrigation, pool and outbuilding lines | Property owner. You |
If the wet ground is on the street side, report it to the City on (714) 647-3380 rather than paying a plumber. A wet patch right at the meter box is the ambiguous case and the common one, locating the leak precisely is what settles it. See main water line repair.
It is the most likely explanation for a wet yard with a moving meter, and it is the cheapest to fix.
The timing tells you which. Wet only after a cycle is downstream of a valve; wet all the time is upstream of one, and that leaks day and night. More on it at irrigation and sprinkler leak detection.
Different symptoms, different urgency, and it will not show on the meter at all: a drain is not pressurised, so the water was going down the pipe anyway.
| Sign | What it means |
|---|---|
| A smell, particularly in warm weather | Waste water is surfacing |
| Ground wet along a line from house to street | The lateral runs there |
| Grass unusually lush along that same line | It is being fertilised, effectively |
| Drains inside running slow at the same time | The lateral is compromised, not just leaking |
| Flies or a sudden pest interest | They find it before people do |
| Ground settling above the line | Soil is washing into a break |
A camera inspection is what confirms it. See sewer camera inspection. Roots are the most common cause here: tree roots in a sewer line.
On a buried line, what sits above it moves the number more than the pipe does. The same repair under lawn and under a stamped concrete driveway is the same plumbing and a very different invoice, which is exactly why locating precisely is worth paying for.
We are licensed and insured plumbers, and this site is about leaks — finding the ones you cannot see and repairing them properly. Roughly half of what looks like a plumbing leak turns out not to be one, so the boundary is worth stating plainly.
Roof leaks are a roofer. Water under an air handler is an HVAC technician clearing a condensate drain. Water under an appliance is appliance repair. Drying, restoration and mold are separate trades again, and gas line repair is SoCalGas or a licensed gas fitter. We detect gas leaks, we do not repair gas lines.
The full list, with the trade to call for each, is on what we don’t do.
| Digging blind | Locating first |
|---|---|
| A trench along the suspected route | One hole at a marked point |
| Landscaping disturbed the whole length | Landscaping disturbed in one place |
| Depth discovered by the machine | Depth known before starting |
| Utilities found the hard way | Private lines traced beforehand |
| Price is a range because the job is unknown | Firm price because the job is defined |
There is also a safety point. California 811 marks utility-owned lines up to the meter and nothing beyond it — your water line, sewer lateral, irrigation and any power to a detached structure are all unmarked. Call 811 before any digging regardless, then see pipe and line locating for the rest.
We trace the buried line and mark the leak before anyone digs anything.
(714) 386-7923Call or text, day or nightSchedule a VisitUsually a leak in the main water line, the irrigation, or the sewer lateral. The meter test separates them: with everything off and irrigation isolated, a moving meter means a pressurised line is losing water. A still meter points at a drain, the sewer, or drainage.
Because a water line runs under it and has been watering it. A green or soft strip in the shape of a trench is one of the more reliable outdoor signs of a main line leak, and it usually shows before any pooling does.
The meter is the boundary. The City of Santa Ana owns the main, the service line to the meter, and the meter. From the meter to your house is yours. If the wet ground is on the street side, report it on (714) 647-3380 rather than paying a plumber.
Turn the system off at the controller for two days, then run the meter test again. If the meter goes still, it is the irrigation. Timing helps too — wet only after a zone runs is downstream of a valve; wet constantly is upstream of one.
Then it is likely the sewer lateral, and that is a health issue rather than only a plumbing one. Stop using water in the house, keep people and pets off the area, and call. A camera inspection is what confirms it.
No pressurised line is losing water, so it is a drain, the sewer lateral, groundwater, drainage or a downspout. Follow your downspouts first, a roof discharging into one spot puts a remarkable amount of water there.
You can, and it usually costs more than locating. Digging blind means a trench along the route rather than a hole at a point, and on your side of the meter nothing is marked — 811 covers utility-owned lines only. Call 811 before any digging regardless.
A spot repair typically runs $1,500 to $3,500 and a full main line replacement $2,000 to $4,500. What sits above the pipe — lawn, pavers, driveway — moves it more than the plumbing does.
Frequently, yes. Clay soil sheds water slowly, and ground that slopes toward a low point collects it every time it rains or the sprinklers run. If the patch appears after rain and dries over days, that is drainage rather than a leak.
A pressurised main line leak is billed continuously and it washes soil out as it runs, so it is worth acting on rather than watching. Sewage surfacing is urgent for health reasons. Drainage can wait for the dry season.