Michael Addy cuts a strange sight on a country lane in Shelf.

Bending over, with his head resting on a long wooden stick with a flat head, he wears a look of concentration.

“Yes, I can hear it. Now we know roughly where it is,” he says.

As leakage investigation technician with Yorkshire Water, Michael is able, through such simple means, to pin-point the location of a leaking pipe up to 3ft underground.

“A wooden listening stick picks up a low tone, and a metal one picks up a higher-pitched tone,” he says. “You can hear a gushing sound.”

If heard during the day, this could, he explains, be the sound of a domestic tap, so the team return during the night and listen again.

Across the UK, over the past decade, the number of leaks has fallen by half, that figure being mirrored in Yorkshire, and the Bradford district.

“This is due to there being more of a focus on saving water,” says Tony O’Shea, the company’s leakage reduction manager.

”We have become more environmentally-conscious, so are more likely to report leaks, and it is easier to do so – there are dedicated phone lines and people can use the internet too.”

Adds Yorkshire Water’s community relations officer Matthew Thompson: “People are also using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to alert us to leaks, so we constantly monitor those sites too and communicate with customers that way. People get in touch through so many different avenues – they are real heroes in flagging up leaks.”

The company aims to fix visible leaks within 48 hours. “Around 45 per cent of leaks are fixed the same day they are reported to us,” says Tony.

Around 40 per cent of leaks are not visible – these are detected using a monitoring process that, as Michael, and leakage analyst Jeff Brammer, demonstrate, can be a mix of high-tech and traditional water-detecting methods. These are found and fixed on average within 72 hours.

“We have to adhere to the Traffic Management Act to ensure that the flow of traffic continues,” says Tony. “We plan the repair based on the severity of the leak and the impact upon the customer. We have a good working relationship with councils and the Highways Agency.”

Adds Matthew: “Minimising disruption is very important to us. Top priority is restoring supplies. We don’t want anyone to be without water.”

Listening rods are used in conjunction with high-tech equipment, making use of sound waves, to pinpoint leaks. “We look at the type of pipe and the flow rates,” says Jeff.

Pipes vary in diameter from half an inch to 42in. Special platelet technology means that many leaks can be fixed from the inside and roads do not have to be dug up. More than 80 per cent are fixed without disruption to the supply.

Customers across Yorkshire are served by a 32,000km network of Yorkshire Water distribution mains, with 2,500km in the Bradford district.

A further 2,000km of privately-owned pipes runs across Bradford. “We don’t own those, but we have a duty to monitor them for leakage and make sure the customer remedies a leak, as it is an offence to knowingly waste water,” explains Tony, adding that Yorkshire Water helps the bulk of customers who find themselves in that situation.

The spell of bad weather at the beginning of the year saw calls to the company about frozen pipes triple. “In terms of leaks, and access to them, it was the most challenging winter for 30 years,” says Tony.

An application of controlled heat is applied to prevent the pipe bursting suddenly. “Vitally, we advise the customer as to how they can protect their pipes from cold,” says Tony.

Adds Matthew: “We closely monitor the weather, looking for significant drops in temperature or heavy snowfall. We spoke to customers in advance of the cold spell and gave them advice. Some got in touch afterwards to thank us.”

Last year, Yorkshire Water – which over the next five years is investing £1.9 million in leak detection – carried out 2,000 repairs across the Bradford district, ranging from stopcock replacement to full-scale water mains. Victorian cast iron pipes are gradually being replaced with high-quality, durable plastic which can easily be maintained.

To report a leak, ring 0800 573553.