On Rancho Santa Fe's large estate lots, a hidden leak usually shows up as a higher water bill or a meter that keeps running, and the source is often a long buried line or irrigation rather than the house. A plumber can isolate each part of the system to track it down. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Rancho Santa Fe.
Rancho Santa Fe basics
Rancho Santa Fe is a historic planned community of low-density country estates, so properties often have long service lines, extensive irrigation and several buildings. Water comes from Santa Fe Irrigation District for most of the area or Olivenhain Municipal Water District in parts such as Santa Fe Valley. SFID is responsible for the valve on the street side of the meter, and it advises customers to have their own shutoff valve on the customer side. Everything past the meter is the owner's plumbing.
What to do now
- Find your customer-side shutoff valve, and install one if there isn't one.
- Turn off all fixtures and every irrigation controller, then read the meter.
- Wait 30 to 60 minutes without using water and read it again.
- If the meter moved, close valves to the guest house, pool equipment and other outbuildings one at a time.
- Walk irrigation runs and the main line route for wet ground or unusual growth.
- For water at the meter or street, call SFID at 858-756-2424, or 858-756-2854 after hours.
Symptoms and likely causes
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Meter moves with all fixtures and irrigation off | Buried service line or a branch to an outbuilding |
| Wet ground near a backflow assembly | Leaking or failed assembly |
| Soggy area in landscaping | Broken irrigation lateral or valve |
| Warm floor in the main house | Hot line leaking under the slab |
| Toilet refilling between uses | Worn flapper or fill valve |
What affects cost
- Total length of buried pipe and number of branches to test
- Irrigation scope and number of zones
- Equipment such as line tracers, acoustic listening and thermal imaging
- Trenching and landscape restoration if the leak is underground
- Permits for larger repairs, issued by the County of San Diego Planning & Development Services since Rancho Santa Fe is unincorporated
Wastewater is handled by the Rancho Santa Fe Community Services District where its system reaches, but some parcels are not on municipal sewer and use a private onsite wastewater system. On those properties, a damp, smelly area in the yard may be the drain line to the tank rather than a supply leak, and a plumber can sort out which.
SFID gives irrigation priority in its backflow program and sends test notices 30 days before a device is due, so a failing assembly may already be on the list for testing.
Leak Detection questions in Rancho Santa Fe
Is a leak between the meter and the house my problem or the water agency's?
How can I tell whether the irrigation system is the source?
Could the pool or spa be the thing losing water?
Which water agency serves my address, and why does it matter for a leak?
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