Olalla: My Water Meter Is Moving With Everything Turned Off

Why this happens in Olalla

A fixture in the house: the indicator stops when the house shutoff is closed. In Olalla that usually means galvanized on Colvos Passage cabins near Olalla Bay, and the ground, outwash that drains and hides leaks, decides how far the water travels before you see it.

The second thing we rule in or out is a hose bib or outbuilding line. A shop, barn or hydrant branch that tees off before the house shutoff. It's common enough on small farms near Burley that we never skip it.

Don't overlook irrigation. The indicator stops when the irrigation is isolated. On Olalla properties from 1970s-to-2000s farms and acreage homes it comes up more than you'd think.

Before you call

From there it's a correlator across a long pasture run and a ground microphone at the break.

What you can check yourself on wooded acreage on Banner Road: confirm nothing is running: toilets, ice maker, softener, irrigation, hoses. Isolate irrigation and any outbuilding branches. If you get that far, we'll pick it up from there with pressure gauges and isolation and electronic acoustic ground microphone.

What happens next

In Olalla the work that follows the diagnosis is underground water leak detection, and it runs in order: repair, if you want us to, confirm there is a leak, confirm and mark. 1970s and 80s polyethylene gone brittle in hardpan on Banner Road sets the pace on pasture parcels off Olalla Valley Road; the sequence doesn't change.

Our Olalla coverage for meter moving with everything off runs Colvos Passage, Burley, Al's Grocery, Banner Road and everything between. We're based in Central Kitsap, about forty minutes down Highway 16, with pressure gauges and isolation and pumps on the truck.