It started with a trickle of water and ended in water bills that reached more than $1,200.

Aviva G. found a trickle of water in the dining room of her Hamilton, Ontario, home – far from where any water should be.

“We have an older house,” she said, “and it took a while to detect (theleak).”

Finding the errant water meant that the next thing she did was call in a plumber. Aviva was told the issue was her children’s shared bathroom on the floor above the dining room – if they were more careful about pulling the shower curtain shut, her water problem would disappear.

“We were shocked when we got the bill,” she said. “We called someone out to fix it again, and it was a pipe. Because of where it was, they had to go through the bathroom floor, they couldn’t come up from the dining room. I saw the before and after photos and they were pretty amazing. We ended up having to re-tile the bathroom.”

The former owner of her home, who had been helping Aviva and her family settle in, told her about the ServLine Leak Protection Program by HomeServe. The program, which is offered through local utilities, protects homeowners from large bills caused by plumbing leaks. Once a leak is
identified and repaired, ServLine will determine the customer’s average bill over the prior 12 months and paying the overage up to the benefit amount.

“It was pretty seamless,” Aviva said. “I submitted the invoice and you responded almost immediately. The email communication was very good, very timely, very efficient. The experience was excellent and it wasn’t a long process.”

With the bill for the plumbing repairs and the re-tiling in mind, Aviva was glad to save more than $1,100 on her water bill with the leak protection program.

“I feel very fortunate that my utility had this, actually,” Aviva said. “I’m very grateful.”

Published June 04, 2025