May is one of our favorite times of year here in rural Illinois. The fields are coming alive, gardens are going in, and everyone is finally getting back outside after a long winter. It’s also one of the best times to give your home’s water system a quick once-over — because what you can’t see can potentially hurt you.
Here’s a simple spring checklist every EJ Water member can use to make sure their water system is in great shape heading into summer.
1. Inspect Your Outdoor Spigots and Hose Bibs
Outdoor faucets are among the most vulnerable parts of your plumbing. A hard freeze can crack a pipe inside the wall without you ever knowing it — until you turn the spigot on and water starts flowing somewhere it shouldn’t.
What to do: Turn on each outdoor faucet and let it run for 30 seconds. Watch for reduced pressure, dripping around the handle, or wet spots forming near the foundation. If anything looks off, call a licensed plumber before summer watering season kicks into full gear.
2. Check Your Irrigation System Before You Fire It Up
Whether you’re running a garden drip line, a yard sprinkler, or a field irrigation system, the startup moment after winter is when problems show up. Cracked fittings, disconnected lines, and stuck valves are all common after a freeze-thaw season.
What to do: Walk your irrigation lines before turning the system on. Look for cracked tubing, loose connections, or emitters that are clogged or missing. Turn the system on in sections so you can watch each zone separately and catch any issues before they become a big water loss.
3. Look for Signs of a Slow Leak Inside
A slow leak is sneaky. A toilet that runs a few extra seconds, a faucet that drips overnight, or a water heater with a tiny pinhole — none of these seem urgent until you realize how much water has been wasted over time. It’s important to be a good steward of your water usage.
What to do: Check under sinks, around your toilet bases, and behind your water heater for any signs of moisture, rust stains, or mineral deposits. You can also do a simple toilet leak test: drop a small amount of food coloring into the tank. If color shows up in the bowl without flushing, you’ve got a flapper leak.
4. Let Your Smart Meter Do the Work
Here’s the good news for EJ Water members who have a smart meter: you don’t have to catch every leak on your own.
Our smart meters are read via cellular signal and can detect continuous water flow if over 24 consecutive hours — including leaks you might never notice on your own. If your meter is registering water movement at 2 a.m. when no one in your house should be using water, that’s a red flag worth investigating.
What to do: Sign up for leak alerts through our member portal at eyeonwater.com. You can set up text or email alerts for unusual usage, and check your day-to-day consumption anytime online. It takes less than five minutes and it’s free for all EJ Water members who currently have a smart meter.
5. Consider Water Service Line Protection Program
Even with the best spring checkup, surprises happen. A service line can fail unexpectedly, and the average repair runs $400–$700 per instance — and that’s before any bill adjustment for the lost water.
EJ Water offers a Water Service Line Protection Program for just $3.95/month that covers the cost of repairs on your service line from the meter to your home. If something does go wrong this spring or summer, that small monthly investment can save you a significant headache.
Learn more about Water Loss Coverage →
One Last Thing: Report Unusual Usage
If something doesn’t look right on your bill or in your usage portal, don’t wait. Give us a call or reach out through your online account. Our team is here to help you track down the problem, we can review your account and offer tips to help you figure out what may be going on.
Taking 30 minutes this May to walk through this checklist could save you hundreds of dollars — and a lot of frustration — before summer arrives.
Have questions? Contact the EJ Water team!
