Leak detection in Preston, Chorley and Leyland
Leak detection in Preston, Chorley and Leyland, from Red Rose Leak Detection, pins down leaks on central heating circuits, on indoor water pipes and on underground supply pipes, in the districts listed below.
Which Preston, Chorley and Leyland postcode districts are covered?
Preston, Chorley and Leyland account for 9 of the PR postcode districts on Red Rose Leak Detection's coverage, set out below by post town.
- Preston
- PR1, PR2, PR3, PR4, PR5
- Chorley
- PR6, PR7
- Leyland
- PR25, PR26
Southport's PR8 and PR9 share the postcode area but not this page; they are listed, with Blackpool and Lancaster, under coverage by town and postcode district.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.
What mix of old and new homes does Preston have?
Preston has more of both the oldest and the newest homes than England as a whole: 17.4% of the homes in the Preston council area were built before 1900, against 14.9% across England, and 15.4% have a build year of 2009 or later, against 12.6% (Council Tax stock of properties, 31 March 2026).
- Oldest and newest homes
- 17.4% of the homes in the Preston council area were built before 1900, against 14.9% across England, and 15.4% have a build year of 2009 or later, against 12.6% across England (Council Tax stock of properties, 31 March 2026).Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties 2026
- Households in a terraced house
- 29.2% of Preston households lived in a terraced house in 2021, against 23.0% across England.Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021 TS044 Accommodation type
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The two ends of that range leak in different settings. A Victorian terrace can still carry lead: United Utilities says “Any properties built before 1970 may still have lead pipework”. A home built since 2009 falls under United Utilities' rule that premises built on or after 1 April 1990 must have a water meter, so a bill that climbs can give a leak away.
These figures cover the Preston council area only; Chorley's and Leyland's districts are covered but sit outside them. Where water spreads from one home into the one below, the page on who pays when a leak damages the flat below sets out what Citizens Advice and Shelter England say.
Which sources feed Preston's water supply?
Preston's water supply is fed from upland, groundwater and river sources, United Utilities' water quality checker says for the city centre, and Fulwood's from upland reservoirs in the Trough of Bowland, supplemented from the Lake District.
Franklaw, which United Utilities calls its third largest treatment works, is the plant the Drinking Water Inspectorate's 2017 report describes, near Garstang, as supplying north Lancashire, Preston and Blackpool included, from the River Wyre, the River Lune, the Thirlmere aqueduct, the Barnacre and Alston reservoirs and the Franklaw and Broughton boreholes.
From the works to the street, the pipes are United Utilities'. Its responsibility ends at the property boundary, and the supply pipe under a Preston lawn or drive, as the sleeve drawing near the top illustrates, is the owner's: the ground covered by underground water leak detection.
Which leaks are traced in Preston homes?
Leaks in Preston homes are traced in four places: the central heating circuit, the water pipes inside the building, the underground supply pipe and, for an insurance claim, wherever the escaping water starts.
- Pressure lost from a sealed system shows on the boiler gauge, and central heating leak detection traces it to the radiator valve, joint or underfloor loop letting the water out.
- Damp on a ceiling, mould or the sound of running water with every tap off can each point to a leak in the water pipes indoors, which pipe leak detection narrows to one point.
- Beneath a drive, in a newer home or an old one, the owner's supply pipe is checked with listening, gas and pressure tests before a floorboard or a flagstone comes up.
- Insurers often cover the search for a hidden leak as trace and access, and MoneySuperMarket advises calling your insurer first.
When is a Preston leak United Utilities' job?
The water main, the communication pipe that runs from it to the property boundary and the external stop tap in the footpath make a Preston leak United Utilities' job; the owner answers for the supply pipe from the boundary into the home and for every pipe inside.
United Utilities: the main in the road, the communication pipe to the boundary, the external stop tap in the footpath
The owner: the supply pipe from the boundary, the internal stop tap and every pipe indoors
Spot a leak in the road, on the main or at a footpath stop tap and United Utilities wants to hear about it on its Report a problem page. Renting? United Utilities says the landlord is responsible for repairing a leak on a rented property's supply pipe.
Chorley and Leyland are United Utilities' too, as is most of Lancashire, and the rest of the region is mapped from the page on leak detection across the North West.