The Glade 4.0

Oh, I never intended to do it. I'm the guy who used to take acorns and hickory nuts to the park next to the library before class to feed the squirrels. Some would take nuts straight from my hand.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I'll leave the first question to the experts..

The meter is at the street (see provided illustration).

Most houses seem to have utility rooms on the opposite side of bedrooms/living areas. And that is generally where the water comes into the house, unless you have multiple entry points for water (unusual). I would assume your utility area is on the right side of the picture, near your side entrance/carport? I would guess the side where the puddle is, is living/bedroom related?

I would find it strange that your water line would go up the line you have with bushes, and wrap completely around your house via front or back to the side with the puddle. I would think if it did indeed enter that side with the puddle, it would have been tunneled under the driveway nearer the meter/road and plotted on the other side of your yard up that side, keeping it away from the actual house and usable yard area.

Anyways, you need to try and get a map of the location of the water line. If in anyway possible contact the previous owner(s) or find the builder? Any form of building plans that may be marked with the water line? Side note: Once you DO find out where it all is, make a map for future references.

Now, I could see the area you have marked as "puddle" as being a common spot for the sewage to come out, as there is likely bathroom(s) on the living room/sleeping side. Are you on septic tank or community sewage? If it is indeed sewage backup, it should be very noticable if you dig down just a smidge. The smell will be strong once you break the surface of dirt and start to hit "watery" soil. Water will actually start to fill the hole you are digging.....

Either way, the wettest spot is likely where the leak is about. Dig carefully, and look for a line probably 4 feet down. If it's a leak, the hole you dig is going to get lots of water in it as you relieve the dirt.

Best of luck!

post edit: I just looked at the photo again.....it appears you have nice big trees on that side as well. Perhaps you have a root problem?

The layout of the house...

Smaller square in the lower right is the detached garage.

The part of the main house closest to the blue line is the kitchen/dining area, with the kitchen to the left (front of the house to the right of the main entrance).

Back of the bottom floor is bedrooms, a bathroom, and laundry room. The front of the house, where the walkway goes in is the main living room.

There is septic in the back yard, just below the tip of the roof shadow.

Sounds like that rules out septic then. Without knowing exactly where the line is routed and to what point, only thing left to do is dig at the puddle site until you find the line/leak. Should be helpful that the earth is wet, unless there are roots involved.

Generally the leak is near the wet puddle. Grade shouldn't really matter imho.

Where is the Water shutoff located? there should be one where the water line enters the house.

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History of the Condom
In 1272, the Muslim Arabs invented the condom, using a goat's lower intestine.
In 1873, the British somewhat refined the idea, by taking the intestine out of the goat first.

Looking at the photograph again, is there a downspout at that corner of the house?

I don't know how much rain you have gotten in that part of Texas, but from your roof plan and guesstimating typical downspout locations, it looks like 40% of your roof area would be directed to that corner location. That's potentially a lot of water concentrated into a pretty small area.