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I live in the US midwest (we have all four seasons). Most houses here use natural gas for heating (and usually some appliances), and many homes are about a hundred years old. The main supply from...
#1: Initial revision
by
Monica Cellio
·
2024-12-18T04:09:21Z (about 17 hours ago)
Does a leaking underground gas pipe reliably show symptoms?
I live in the US midwest (we have all four seasons). Most houses here use natural gas for heating (and usually some appliances), and many homes are about a hundred years old. The main supply from the gas company is under roads or sidewalks, and each building has an underground supply line. I couldn't find definitive legal requirements for depth, but search results suggest these pipes are usually 18-24 inches below ground. I have been told ([example](https://denovadetect.com/blogs/posts/detect-gas-leaks-outside-home)) that the following are symptoms of a leak in that underground line: dead vegetation, hissing, bubbles (in water or dirt/mud), dirt blowing, mist, and the distinctive odor that they add to otherwise-odorless natural gas. If you have any of those symptoms, it's wise to investigate. My question is whether the *absence* of these symptoms is meaningful. If none of that stuff is happening, could the pipe be leaking nonetheless? Or is that extremely unlikely, and one should be suspicious of a plumber saying there might be a leak that needs repair?