The typical suburban DFW house is supplied with water by the municipal water company. The amount of water used is measured by a water meter located where the main water line comes into the property (usually near the street). The water lines hold a pressure of anywhere from 40-100 PSI (on average) in this area, and this pressure keeps water flowing through the entire system. The sewer system, on the other hand, is made of large PVC or cast iron pipes. (Cast iron pipes were used for homes built before 1986.) Unlike the water system, there is no pressure pushing the waste through these pipes. All of the pipes slope downward so that the waste flows by gravity out to the sewer pipes serving the subdivision. When the pressurized water supply pipes start to leak, they will leak all the time. It does not matter whether anyone is using the faucets or not. This can put a massive amount of water into the ground very quickly. When the sewer pipes break and start to leak, on the other hand, they will only leak when someone is using the system, and they will not leak any more water than what is put down the drain. While both types of slab leaks are problematic and can lead to foundation damage, we’re going to mainly focus on pressurized water supply pipe leaks in this article. These types of slab leaks have signs which are much easier to identify without special tools. The urgency of these types of leaks tends to be much higher as well.