How many gallons is that leak?

Pick a leak and a time. Watch the gallons stack up, and see about what it adds to a Philadelphia water bill.

Illustration. It does not show a real home or job.

This is an estimate, not a bill or a diagnosis. It takes about a minute, and nothing you enter is saved.

Water pouring, a sagging ceiling, or water near outlets or wiring? Skip the calculator. Shut off your main water valve if you can do it safely, stay away from wet electrical, and call a plumber now.

1What's leaking?

How fast is it dripping?

Not sure? Count the drips for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

2For how long?

Result

0 gallons

= 1 gallon

On a Philadelphia water bill

Water and sewer usage charges, at PWD rates in effect since Sept. 1, 2026.

Compared with a typical home

PWD's typical home uses about 3,200 gallons a month.

Leak rate

gallons a day

Find the leak this week

Toilet dye test. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If color shows up in the bowl within 10 minutes without flushing, the flapper is leaking. Flush right after so it doesn't stain. EPA WaterSense
Check a winter bill. If a family of four uses more than 12,000 gallons in January or February, there could be a serious leak. EPA WaterSense
Check the reading chart on your bill. "Estimated Reading," or "Zero usage" when you know you used water, can mean your meter's transmitter isn't reporting. Call PWD at (215) 685-6300. City of Philadelphia

For what a plumber checks and how leaks get fixed, read our leak detection and repair guide.

Find a Philadelphia plumber for leak repair →

How we calculated this, and our sources

Drips to gallons: USGS estimates a faucet drip at 1/4 milliliter, or 15,140 drips per gallon. Drip sizes vary. EPA estimates a faucet dripping once a second wastes more than 3,000 gallons a year, so real drips can be bigger than this estimate. USGS Drip Calculator · EPA Fix a Leak Week
Running toilet: "could be wasting 200 gallons of water or more every day." EPA WaterSense family fact sheet
Sprinkler line leak: a leak 1/32 of an inch in diameter "can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month." EPA Fix a Leak Week
Bill estimate: We use PWD rates effective Sept. 1, 2026. Water costs $73.13 per 1,000 cubic feet for the first 2,000 cubic feet and $68.72 after that. The water TAP-R surcharge adds $5.41. Sewer costs $49.53, and the sewer TAP-R surcharge adds $7.56. 1,000 cubic feet = 7,480 gallons. We add the leak on top of PWD's typical 430 cubic feet a month. Service and stormwater charges don't change with a leak. Senior and TAP discounts aren't included. PWD rate information
Bill reading chart: "Estimated reading" on a water bill? A red flag you shouldn't ignore, City of Philadelphia, Aug. 14, 2023. Dye test and winter-bill check: EPA Fix a Leak Week.
Rates checked Oct. 7, 2026. Last reviewed Oct. 7, 2026. This is an estimate, not a bill.