TrueFlow finds and fixes a water pipe leak on the buried supply at homes in Bracknell, Reading, Windsor and across Berkshire: the pipe between the stop tap at your boundary and the stopcock inside the house. An underground pipe repair deals with a single split or failed joint; lead, galvanised steel and tired plastic runs get a full pipe replacement in 25 mm MDPE. No price is published for this work (the pricing page lists our fixed drainage prices), because every run differs in length, depth and surface, so quotes are free and the exact price is agreed before any work starts, backed by a 6-month guarantee and full insurance. A burst is an emergency: 24/7, a 60-minute response target, call-outs from £120 including VAT, and our burst pipe guide covers the first five minutes.
Where the water company’s pipe ends and yours begins
The water company owns the main and the communication pipe up to your property boundary, usually the outside stop valve. From there to the house the supply pipe is the homeowner’s, and a pipe serving several houses is the joint responsibility of every owner on it (Consumer Council for Water).
Thames Water also requires a confirmed leak to be repaired within four weeks, or it may do the work and charge.
Signs the buried supply pipe is leaking
- The meter still moves with the inside stopcock closed, so the loss is on the buried run; our meter test guide shows how.
- A damp patch, greener strip of grass or soft spot in the lawn or drive between stop tap and house.
- Kitchen-tap flow that has fallen away over months.
Two together usually mean the pipe has failed; leak detection then marks the failure point.
Lead supply pipes and why they are replaced
Lead was outlawed for new drinking water pipes in 1970, so an older home whose supply has never been renewed may still have one; our 1960s housing guide to Bracknell’s New Town estates shows how to recognise it. The legal limit at the tap has been 10 micrograms per litre since 25 December 2013, now set by the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016.
South East Water, which supplies Bracknell, replaces any lead on its own part of the pipework when you replace yours, at no charge. Thames Water’s scheme takes pre-1970 properties replacing their lead supply pipe within three months of applying, and is closed from November until spring 2027. Affinity Water has undertaken to the Drinking Water Inspectorate to replace its lead communication pipe where the customer has replaced theirs, and offers £100 towards a compliant replacement. The application is yours to make; TrueFlow lays the pipe to the standard the schemes inspect.
Help from your water company and your insurer
Ask your water company first. South East Water gives domestic customers the first hour of leak detection free, then up to £100 towards an external supply pipe repair or up to £250 towards a replacement it recommends; Thames Water and Affinity Water run free repair offers with their own conditions, and CCW advises asking about a leakage allowance afterwards.
The detail: CCW advises checking for one-off help with locating and repairing the leak as well as the allowance. South East Water’s first-hour offer and its repair and replacement contributions are for owner-occupiers who finish within 30 days. Thames Water’s customer repair offer may fix a leak free where insurance or home emergency cover does not, once per owner, only up to the building and on runs under 30 metres. Affinity Water may repair a sound supply pipe free under its Leak Repair Scheme, with one excavation and never under buildings.
Buildings insurance can help too: most policies cover sudden, accidental damage to the underground pipes you are responsible for, often with trace-and-access cover for finding and exposing a leak; wear and tear is excluded. Our home insurance guide walks through a claim.
Repair, full replacement and what a TrueFlow visit involves
A single split or failed joint on a sound pipe is repaired; lead, galvanised steel and pipes that have leaked before or lost their flow are replaced. A new supply pipe is blue 25 mm MDPE laid 750 mm to 1,350 mm deep, insulated and ducted through the wall, with a new inside stop valve and drain valve: the specification Thames Water inspects before a trench is backfilled.
The engineer confirms the loss at the meter, pinpoints the leak with acoustic and tracer-gas equipment, opens the ground at that spot or digs the new route, connects the pipe at the boundary stop tap and the house, tests it under mains pressure and reinstates the lawn, path or drive, leaving with the water on.
Supply pipe FAQs
How can I tell that the supply pipe, not the house plumbing, is leaking?
Close the inside stopcock, make sure nothing is drawing water, and watch the meter for half an hour. Movement puts the loss on the buried pipe between boundary and house; damp or unusually green ground along that line and a bill rise point the same way.
Can the pipe be renewed without digging up a block-paved drive?
A trench is still needed, but block paving is the kindest surface to cross. The blocks along the route are lifted and set aside, the trench is dug and backfilled, and the same blocks are relaid on fresh bedding, so the line is hard to pick out once it has weathered. Tarmac and concrete have to be cut out and patched.
Will the water be off while the new pipe is laid?
Only while the new pipe is connected. The new route is dug with the existing supply still on, the changeover at the boundary stop tap and the house is made together, the pipe is tested under mains pressure, and the engineer leaves with the water running.
Should a lead supply pipe be replaced?
Yes, when you can plan it. Treatment limits lead pick-up, but the legal limit at the tap is 10 micrograms per litre and only a new pipe removes the source, improving flow too. Each local company replaces its own lead section when you replace yours, subject to scheme conditions.
Will the garden or drive be dug up?
Only where necessary. A located leak is repaired through a single hole; a full replacement follows a narrow trench along the new route. We reinstate the surface, and where a drive or patio is involved the finish is agreed before the quote.
Stop paying for water that never reaches a tap
Call 0808 175 7440 for a free quote on a repair or a new supply pipe in Bracknell and Berkshire, or request a quote online.