In the attached photo, you see that I have placed a container under the pipe connection on the right side of the water meter. The joint there leaks. I've tightened it but it still leaks and I think I have tightened it about as much as it can be tightened. Now, I'm thinking I should loosen the nut and put some plumber's tape there and then re-tighten it. Does this sound like an appropriate action to try to stop the leak?

 

Turn the water off..... loosen that nut and then retighten it.
That is a ground union. It should not require any sealant.

 

Agreed, my only addition would be to clean the threads and the mating faces with a towel or something. If some gunk gets in there, it can affect how the two surfaces seal.

 

Well, I tried loosening the nut and re-tightening it. That did not work; it didn't stop the leaking. Later, I discovered some black gunk which I later realized was a crushed and broken gasket (in photo below). So, some time in the past, someone has put a gasket in there. I don't recall ever doing that.

After I thought I had the nut cleaned out, I re-tightened it. But, it leaked. I'm thinking a gasket will have to be installed.

 

Is that a paper gasket ?
I've never seen that before.

Depot shows some gaskets. I see 3/4" and 1". Can't tell which would be needed.
I would think it would need to be 1" to 1-1/4" in diameter. Pick up several sizes.
water meter gaskets

 

Whose responsibility is the leak, which side of the meter is it on? If it's on your side of the meter than by all means, fix it. If it's ahead of the meter I'd call the water utility.

 

I've spent some time analyzing the situation and I think I've learned more about it. I should provide some background information. The CPCV piping shown in one photo is not the original plumbing; the original plumbing there was all copper piping. Then, some years ago, I fell victim to a high-pressure sales pitch to buy a water softener. It was installed. This resulted in copper pipes being cut away and CPCV piping installed to connect the water softener to the water line. Within 3 days, I exercised my legal right to cancel the contract. The vendor came out and removed the water softener and modified the plumbing to restore normal water circulation within the home.

At that time, I believed the changes they made to my plumbing were acceptable. However, I now realize it was poorly done and appears to be causing the current leaking.problem. The photo immediately below shows the plumbing left behind by the water softener vendor after removing the water softener. The 2nd photo shows a crooked connection to the copper pipe going into the wall and it shows that the elbow joint there is touching the other pipe which is connected to the section next to the water meter. That contact there is causing an alignment problem, which is preventing the mating faces (see Zorfdt post) where the leak is happening, from making normal contact. This can be seen in the third photo.







So, I suspect the water softener vendor installed a gasket in that joint to prevent leaking at that time. And, of course, over time, that gasket deteriorated. Yesterday, I installed a new o-ring gasket and, for now, that joint in not leaking. Looking forward, I am thinking a long-term solution will require some modification to eliminate the issue shown in the 2nd photo.

 

The obvious solution would be to eliminate all the extraneous pipe and simply connect the 2 pipes in photo 2 again.

 

Yes, I would like to do that. I'm reluctant to attempt that project myself. So, I might call in a plumber.

 

My mistake!!! Those water meter connections do typically have a washer included. Glad you figured it out and sorry for leading you astray with that.

Example:
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin-...ling-Lead-Free

 

Well, I got brave and removed a major portion of the piping today. This is still not the preferred outcome, but it got the piping away from the wall. Now, I can finish painting the wall.

 

Quite an improvement!