Hesperia sits along the Mojave River wash, and homes closer to that dry riverbed rest on sandier, looser soil than the harder-packed ground found elsewhere in the High Desert. That looser soil shifts more noticeably after seasonal rain, and repeated cycles of expansion and settling put ongoing stress on the copper and galvanized pipes running beneath a slab foundation. Add in the mix of older properties along the historic Main Street corridor, many of which still have their original plumbing, and it is easy for a slab leak to go unnoticed for weeks before it shows up as a warm spot on the floor or a water bill that does not add up.