Direct Answer
AnyLeak provides leak and moisture detection services in British Columbia using non-invasive methods — acoustic correlation, tracer gas, thermal imaging, and moisture metering — to find leaks without digging or damage. Every inspection includes a written, insurance-ready report. Call (604) 269-5325 for a free phone consult.
🔄 Reviewed and maintained by the AnyLeak team — October 2026. Rated 5 stars by BC customers.
A letter from your municipality about high water consumption is easy to misread as a billing problem. It usually isn’t. Most BC cities now meter closely enough — and some use smart (AMI) meters that report continuously — that they can see when a property starts drawing water around the clock. The notice means the city’s data says water is running somewhere on your side of the meter, and they’re telling you before the bill, or the damage, gets worse. AnyLeak.ca has helped BC owners answer these notices since 1999: we find the leak the letter is pointing at, and we document the fix so you can close the loop with the city.
Why you received the notice
- Continuous flow at your meter — usage that never drops to zero overnight is the classic leak signature cities screen for.
- A consumption jump versus your own history or similar properties.
- Zone metering — some utilities meter whole areas and investigate the properties most likely to explain a rising district night flow.
The wording varies by municipality — “high consumption”, “excessive water usage”, “possible leak” — and your letter may mention a follow-up or re-read timeline. Read it carefully; then deal with the cause.
What to do first (15 minutes, free)
- Confirm the flow. Turn off every fixture and appliance, then watch your water meter — here’s how to read it. Movement with everything off means a real leak; see meter running with no usage.
- Check the obvious: running fixtures, a softener or irrigation valve stuck open, a heating system auto-fill.
- If the meter still moves, call us — (604) 269-5325, free phone consult. The leak is most often in the buried service line between the meter and the building, under a slab, or in an irrigation system — places only detection equipment can pinpoint.
How we find it without digging up your property
Our methods are non-invasive: acoustic listening and correlation on pressurized lines, tracer gas for quiet plastic pipe, thermal imaging indoors, and line tracing so the one repair dig lands exactly on the breach. You get the located source plus a written report — the document many owners send back to the city to show the notice was acted on, and the one your insurer may want too.
Residential properties
On homes, the usual culprits are the buried service line (especially older galvanized or poly), irrigation zones that run unseen, and slab leaks that never surface. Metro Vancouver’s sandy and gravelly soils swallow leaks invisibly — a dry lawn proves nothing. One visit normally pinpoints the loss; your plumber repairs a marked spot instead of trenching the yard.
Strata, commercial and rental properties
Multi-unit and commercial accounts draw bigger notices because the meters are bigger. We isolate which system is losing water — domestic, irrigation, mechanical make-up, amenity — then pinpoint it; see strata bill-spike investigation and commercial services. For tenanted buildings, our finding also settles the who-pays conversation with documentation rather than argument.
Government and institutional properties
Civic facilities, schools and campuses receive consumption flags from their own utilities and finance departments. We run the same systematic isolation at institutional scale — buildings, yard mains, irrigation — with the documented methodology and written scopes public-sector teams need; see government services and municipal water main detection for the system side.
Why acting quickly matters
- The water is already costing you. A notice-level leak commonly wastes thousands of litres a day — billed to you, every day it runs.
- Leaks grow. The breach that’s leaking quietly this month is the washout or interior flood later.
- Documentation protects you. A located, repaired and documented leak is the clean answer — to the city, to your insurer, and to a future buyer.
Anywhere in BC
We respond to consumption notices across Metro Vancouver (Vancouver — including the laneway-house notice scenario, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond), the Fraser Valley, the Sea-to-Sky, Vancouver Island and the Interior — all service areas.
Frequently asked questions
Is the city accusing me of something? No — the notice is a data flag, and usually a favour: most owners have no idea until the letter arrives.
Could the meter itself be wrong? It happens, but rarely; the bucket-stop test above tells you in minutes whether real flow exists.
The city re-read is coming — can you document that we acted? Yes — the written report records the located source and date, exactly what owners submit with their response.
Who repairs the leak? Any plumber or contractor you choose — they dig once, at our mark. We find and document; see how the process works.
Holding a notice right now? Call (604) 269-5325 for a free phone consult or book an assessment — bring the letter; it tells us where to start.
A Closer Look at This Service
The cost of finding a leak is small compared to the cost of the damage it causes. A month of undetected leaking can wet insulation, rot framing, wash soil, and attract mould in the time it takes to book an inspection.
A city’s building code, its typical construction era, and its soil behaviour all leave their fingerprints on the leaks it produces. Reading those fingerprints is what makes an investigation accurate on the first visit.
The technician works methodically through the checklist, explaining each step as it happens. Questions are welcome at every stage, and the approach is adjusted when the evidence points in a new direction.
How the Investigation Is Delivered
Every investigation follows the same disciplined sequence: consultation, survey, testing, cross-verification, marking, and documentation. The sequence is deliberate, and each step builds on the last.
- Step 1: Consultation to understand the situation and the history
- Step 2: Site survey and indicator mapping
- Step 3: Testing of the suspected systems with matched methods
- Step 4: Cross-verification of the finding
- Step 5: Marking and documentation
- Step 6: Written, dated report
A fourth mistake is hiring a repair contractor to find the leak. Contractors are paid to repair, and their interest is in the work, not in the precision of the location. An independent detection team has no repair to sell, only an answer to deliver.
What This Costs
Pricing for this service in British Columbia depends on the scope of the investigation: the systems to be tested, the size of the property, and whether the finding is confirmed with a second method. A fixed quote is provided before any work begins, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Most property-level investigations in British Columbia are quoted as a fixed fee once the situation is understood. The quote covers the technician’s time, the instruments, the investigation, and the written report.
Insurance and Documentation
For BC policyholders, the practical value is speed: the claim starts with the report already in hand, instead of weeks of back-and-forth while the insurer tries to establish what happened.
For BC policyholders, the practical value is speed: the claim starts with the report already in hand, instead of weeks of back-and-forth while the insurer tries to establish what happened.
What the Report Includes
You keep the report. It documents the finding, the condition at the time of the investigation, and the guidance for the repair, which is useful for warranty, insurance, and future reference.
The written report is the deliverable that separates professional detection from a good guess. It includes the confirmed location, the depth where applicable, the readings, the photographs, the methods used, and an interpretation of the cause and contributing factors.
When to Call
Call when a decision needs documentation: an insurance claim, a real estate transaction, a strata dispute, or a warranty process. Those decisions run on evidence, and the evidence has to exist before the deadline.
Call when a decision needs documentation: an insurance claim, a real estate transaction, a strata dispute, or a warranty process. Those decisions run on evidence, and the evidence has to exist before the deadline.
How to Prepare the Property
If there is an active leak, the priority is containment: shut off the water at the fixture or main if it can be done safely, move valuables away, and photograph the scene. The technician can be guided by phone while en route.
The best preparation is information: when the issue started, what changed around that time, what the weather did, and what has already been tried. That history is often more valuable than any instrument.
Common Questions
Is this service non-invasive?
Yes. Every method used works from the surface and leaves no marks. Nothing is cut, dug, or permanently marked during the investigation.
How accurate is the location?
With cross-verified methods, locations are typically within a metre or less, and slab locations within inches.
Is the report useful for insurance?
Yes. The report documents the cause, the extent, the methods used, and the readings, structured for claims and engineering review.
How long does an investigation take?
Most property-level investigations complete within a day, and the written report follows within one to two business days.
Do you repair leaks?
No. Detection and documentation are the service. The report guides the repair contractor to the exact location.
What does this cost?
The quote is fixed before work begins, based on the scope defined in the free consultation. What you are quoted is what you pay.
Call (604) 269-5325 or email info@anyleak.ca for a free consultation. The report is dated, documented, and written to the standard insurers and engineers expect.
★★★★★
"I recently hired AnyLeak for leak repairs on my roof and deck canopy, and I couldn't be happier with the results."
Trevor Houston
Google Review