diff --git a/libvips/iofuncs/init.c b/libvips/iofuncs/init.c
index 51f7d589..85facc1f 100644
--- a/libvips/iofuncs/init.c
+++ b/libvips/iofuncs/init.c
@@ -297,7 +297,6 @@ vips_leak( void )
 
 	if( vips_tracked_get_allocs() || 
 		vips_tracked_get_mem() ||
-		vips_tracked_get_mem_highwater() ||
 		vips_tracked_get_files() ) {
 		vips_buf_appendf( &buf, "memory: %d allocations, %zd bytes\n",
 			vips_tracked_get_allocs(), vips_tracked_get_mem() );