Burst pipe / leak outside - what to do?

[grandplans]

It looks like we have a burst pipe under our drive. We do have a large man hole cover there but I can't see how to open it.

Who do I call?

A regular plumber? The water board?

Also - should I treat this as an emergency? I've got stuff to do - I was planning on dealing with it later on. It's a steady trickle rather than a flood.

Should I be turning the water off?

As far as I can tell it's flowing away from the house. Should I be worried in case it isn't?

I would start with the water board - they should be able to advise.

Thanks :)

As it's under my drive it's going to cost me £££ isn't it

I don’t know - depends where the leak is. If it’s not on your property maybe not - it might just be finding a place to come out (your drive) which is further away from the actual leak.

Have you got home insurance? I wonder if they would be the people to contact.

Look at the website for your water board - some come out for free to investigate even if it’s on your property (if it’s the supply pipe).

They own the outside/supply stopcock so may need to come out anyway if you can’t access it / turn it.

Contact your insurers. I think you'll need to trace the leak but the cost of that could be covered. Also call your water supplier. They have a statutory liability if the leak is from their public pipes. I'm not sure I'd leave it for too long. You don't know how long it's been going on and how saturated the ground underneath might be.

Insurers normally cover damage caused to property by leaks but won't necessarily cover the cost of repairing the leak.

I think it's probably my pipes - it's coming from where I know there are pipes underground anyway.

Most water companies do a free leak repair on your incoming water pipe between your house and the street. Call to ask.