*New update post 70* Very high water bill but no leak??

[LoveBWVVBR]

DW is a utility attorney who normally handles large corporate rate cases, but she also does pro bono work periodically for this exact issue. Keep working to have the meter replaced and tested, but document the serial number and any identifying marks before they leave with the meter. Hopefully, the utility will leave the new (working) meter in place and you return to your $90 billings.

OK, I will go outside and do this right now. I'll take pics. Can I ask why though? Is it possible that they return a different meter and say "it worked fine!" and then I can't go back and request a credit for the 3 high bills or something?

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Are they actually reading the meter each month? We had a problem like that and we disputed because it was obvious that they had not read the meter (grass was growing around the meter lid and a bunch of leaves were under the lid, blocking the meter. The meter stayed that way for a few months)

Yes, I'm pretty sure they are. The reading from the 15th of the month isn't too far off from what is showing right now (within 4K gallons), which would be normal use for us for one of those $90/month bills. That's why I think that this is some sort of intermittent issue with the meter. One month it's $90, then crazy bill, then it is shaping up to be within the $90 range again barring something going nuts with the meter...and really who knows when that will happen or why. That's why I think they should just replace it with a new one.

 

[smiths02]

Yes, I'm pretty sure they are. The reading from the 15th of the month isn't too far off from what is showing right now (within 4K gallons), which would be normal use for us for one of those $90/month bills. That's why I think that this is some sort of intermittent issue with the meter. One month it's $90, then crazy bill, then it is shaping up to be within the $90 range again barring something going nuts with the meter...and really who knows when that will happen or why. That's why I think they should just replace it with a new one.

That stinks. I hope you get it resolved.
Our water at that house we had was run by the county. The customer service was truly bad. We had the same thing...this huge bill jump. You can never even get them on the phone. When I finally did, the lady was just telling me we had a leak. It was a 3 bedroom/1 bath house on a 1/4 acre lot...there is no way we didn't notice a leak like that. Anyway, DH went to check the meter and sure enough, it looked as though no one had touched it in months. Unfortunately, we had to pay the crazy bill because we feared being shut off if we disputed, but the bill for the next cycle was next to nothing.

 

[TreeFalls]

My sister had the same thing happen. It turned out she had a leak between the meter (by the street) and her house. She never thought it could be that because of the amount of water (also swimming pools full), but when the guy dug around the water line it was obvious that there was a lot of water a couple feet underground.

ETA- hopefully yours is something easier, though. That one was messy and expensive to fix.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am beyond shocked. I live in the UK and they would just replace the meter. We have a body that monitors the water companies. We can go crying to them. Do you have such a body there?

 

[usnuzuloose]

We kept getting late notice for our electric bill. Saying we were behind. Seemed like every month. We proved them wrong. But the things still kept coming. Once we found out the meter reader was using the meter from next door and saying it was ours , the owner passed away and they hooked the bill on us. We finally had to threaten with an atty. So far so good, since that. I would not let it go that easy. I would go up the chain to get an answer.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My sister had the same thing happen. It turned out she had a leak between the meter (by the street) and her house. She never thought it could be that because of the amount of water (also swimming pools full), but when the guy dug around the water line it was obvious that there was a lot of water a couple feet underground.

ETA- hopefully yours is something easier, though. That one was messy and expensive to fix.

I was honestly wondering if it was something like that..maybe a slow leak made worse by environmental factors (maybe it could explain a few months of normal followed by a few months of abnormal readings).

I know for my utility company this is the information they have online: "Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining the line leading to your home or business's meter, and maintaining the meter itself. You, the property owner, are responsible for maintaining the service line from the meter to your building and the plumbing within your building. If the suspected leak is determined to be either in your service line or in your building, you will need to call a local plumber or fix the problem yourself. Leaking toilets are sometimes the cause for unexplained water usage."

Every few months we get offers in the mail for insurance coverage basically for the utility lines we would be responsible for instead of the respective utility company though we haven't actually paid for the insurance coverage yet.

 

[kymom99]

We kept getting late notice for our electric bill. Saying we were behind. Seemed like every month. We proved them wrong. But the things still kept coming. Once we found out the meter reader was using the meter from next door and saying it was ours , the owner passed away and they hooked the bill on us. We finally had to threaten with an atty. So far so good, since that. I would not let it go that easy. I would go up the chain to get an answer.

That sounds like a nightmare! How did you figure that out?

 

[supersnoop]

showing 32,900 gallons used!!

Clearly the amount of water they are saying we used would be impossible barring someone leaving a hose on full blast for a full month...and in that case we'd have a sinkhole!

I'm not sure where you live, but 33,000 gallons can be pretty normal during the summer here in Texas when you water your lawn. I was routinely using 25,000 gallons, and that was with water restrictions in place. On leaky toilet valve can increase usage almost 10,000 gallons in a month. When we had an actual leak in the sprinkler system, it was closer to 100,000 gallons. So, please don't get hung up on the 33,000 gallon number. I'm sure your utility company sees numbers like that regularly.

 

[usnuzuloose]

That sounds like a nightmare! How did you figure that out?

I am really not sure, I think they looked at the bill and the meter. But the kids next door did not keep paying the bill after there mom passed. I mean we had extreme sensetivity for their loss. But we just kept up with the questions. I am not going to let the companies take advantage like that. Sometimes it takes persistance to get things answered. So far we have never had one thing come in again to say we are late and ready to shut things off. But now that I say that, it may happen.

 

[CallieS]

I work for a city in Florida, in the Finance Department. Our water billing and meter technicians report to Finance (not Public Works, for whatever reason). Here are a couple thoughts:

1. At my city, we have offered to replace meters when customers swear it's the meter's fault. If the bill went down to normal with the new meter, we'd eat the cost of the meter. If the usage was still extremely high after the meter change, the owner paid for the new meter. That was the compromise.
2. Does your meter do something called "data logging"? Ask the city. At our city, the newer meters log your usage by day and time. That may show normal usage for 29 days, then the huge spike on the last day when the meter jumps (for example).
3. If your billing department reports to Finance, ask to speak to the person in charge of the Finance department. They may be able to work something out for you.

Good luck!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I'm not sure where you live, but 33,000 gallons can be pretty normal during the summer here in Texas when you water your lawn. I was routinely using 25,000 gallons, and that was with water restrictions in place. On leaky toilet valve can increase usage almost 10,000 gallons in a month. When we had an actual leak in the sprinkler system, it was closer to 100,000 gallons. So, please don't get hung up on the 33,000 gallon number. I'm sure your utility company sees numbers like that regularly.

Here lawn water comes from a well. It's not potable water and isn't in the water bill thankfully.

I'm sure they see numbers that big regularly at the water dept. We don't, though. We have fully ascertained that there is no leak. We replaced the toilet flappers early on despite doing the dye test and not seeing any actual leakage. We had to rule that out. We also replaced the outside hoses at the same time...again, no indication of a leak, but we had to rule those out. The next month's bill was normal and then the huge 33K gallon bill hit. There is no real consistency and we live in fear of what might come next month (although, from the looks of it, our usage is "normal" for mid-way through the monthly cycle right now). As yet, they haven't showed to check the meter. I hope they actually do show today.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I work for a city in Florida, in the Finance Department. Our water billing and meter technicians report to Finance (not Public Works, for whatever reason). Here are a couple thoughts:

1. At my city, we have offered to replace meters when customers swear it's the meter's fault. If the bill went down to normal with the new meter, we'd eat the cost of the meter. If the usage was still extremely high after the meter change, the owner paid for the new meter. That was the compromise.
2. Does your meter do something called "data logging"? Ask the city. At our city, the newer meters log your usage by day and time. That may show normal usage for 29 days, then the huge spike on the last day when the meter jumps (for example).
3. If your billing department reports to Finance, ask to speak to the person in charge of the Finance department. They may be able to work something out for you.

Good luck!

Thank you!! I live in FL also. Yes, the "data logging" is what they will put in place once they come take the other meter for testing. I very much want this done. I would also gladly pay to have a new meter installed. They haven't given that option so far, though. What they offered was the temporary removal/testing of the current meter and the data logging meter put in place in the meantime.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Just to update, the technician came out, determined that there was no leak as the meter wasn't moving, and left us dye tabs for the toilet tanks. That's it. Didn't take the meter to be checked for accuracy as we requested, didn't replace it with the data logging meter...just did nothing really. We are back to square 1. We are calling and emailing tomorrow to state that we will pay for 100% of the cost of a new meter and that we want this meter replaced at our cost. We don't know what else to do.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We had this issue - turns out it was a tiny leak in the water line from the meter to the house. Once it was repaired our bills went back to normal.

The utility in our area doesn't pay for this sort of repair - we had to pay for the line replacement ourselves.

 

[manning]

neighbor had a bill for 95000 gallons. His neighbor has the pool. Water dept discovered they billed the wrong account.

 

[WaterLossExpert]

Hoping to help a bit here: there are a number of different types of toilet anomalies that can cause substantial leaks that (1), dye tablets are ineffectively at identifying and (2), which can easily result in the water loss that you are experiencing. In working with many utilities across the country, let me assert that a very high percentage of the time the undetected water loss is due to one or more toilets, not the meter. I don't want to write a book here, but I am willing to help. I'll check back in a bit to see if you're interested...let me know. Incidentally, no charge.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Our neighbor was having some work done to his house, while he was away on vacation. The workers had to shut the water off to his house to do some of the repairs, and hooked a hose up to my outside faucet, without asking us if it was ok.
As soon as I noticed it, I went and unhooked the house, coiled back on his property, and threw a lock on the handle, so it couldn't be used. Told the workers I didn't appreciate them using the water I pay for without permission.

The workers tried to run the house across the front of my house to the other side of the front yard (whoever built my house was really on top of making sure you could access everything from everywhere...three outside faucets (one on each side of the house, and one in the backyard); three lightswitches for the overhead kitchen light, all within five steps of each other; seven electrical outlets in the kitchen (not including the stove, fridge, disposal and dishwasher outlets); and 4 lightswitches in the master bath (one for the tub light, one for the shower, one for the sink lights and one for the closet/toilet lights...only the tub one is far enough from the others to take steps).

I unhooked that one, coiled it up and put it in my garage (the other end was sitting in the driveway). Locked the other faucet too, and the one in the backyard for good measure.

A couple days later, they ran a heavy duty extension cord to the electrical outlet by the front door. I unplugged it, and called the company to come pick up their property. Should have kept the cord and hose, they were good heavy duty ones. The company apologized, and I ended up with a water bill $30 over the usual. My electric went up the next time the budget billing was up for review (they do it every 6 months).

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Hoping to help a bit here: there are a number of different types of toilet anomalies that can cause substantial leaks that (1), dye tablets are ineffectively at identifying and (2), which can easily result in the water loss that you are experiencing. In working with many utilities across the country, let me assert that a very high percentage of the time the undetected water loss is due to one or more toilets, not the meter. I don't want to write a book here, but I am willing to help. I'll check back in a bit to see if you're interested...let me know. Incidentally, no charge.

Yes, I'd really like any info that could explain what we experienced. The thing is, why would it be intermittent (one month high, next normal, next very high), and why does the meter not show any leaking now if there was a toilet leak? That's what is confounding us.

Our neighbor was having some work done to his house, while he was away on vacation. The workers had to shut the water off to his house to do some of the repairs, and hooked a hose up to my outside faucet, without asking us if it was ok.
As soon as I noticed it, I went and unhooked the house, coiled back on his property, and threw a lock on the handle, so it couldn't be used. Told the workers I didn't appreciate them using the water I pay for without permission.

The workers tried to run the house across the front of my house to the other side of the front yard (whoever built my house was really on top of making sure you could access everything from everywhere...three outside faucets (one on each side of the house, and one in the backyard); three lightswitches for the overhead kitchen light, all within five steps of each other; seven electrical outlets in the kitchen (not including the stove, fridge, disposal and dishwasher outlets); and 4 lightswitches in the master bath (one for the tub light, one for the shower, one for the sink lights and one for the closet/toilet lights...only the tub one is far enough from the others to take steps).

I unhooked that one, coiled it up and put it in my garage (the other end was sitting in the driveway). Locked the other faucet too, and the one in the backyard for good measure.

A couple days later, they ran a heavy duty extension cord to the electrical outlet by the front door. I unplugged it, and called the company to come pick up their property. Should have kept the cord and hose, they were good heavy duty ones. The company apologized, and I ended up with a water bill $30 over the usual. My electric went up the next time the budget billing was up for review (they do it every 6 months).

OMG!!!! Now I'm freaked out. This kind of thing is way more plausible than anything else IMHO. The water dept. asked if anyone could have had access to our water taps and we said that we have cameras and decent neighbors and live on a busy street. I honestly didn't think of something like a contractor hooking up to our water. That is just beyond awful. I would have filmed them and also called the cops! We have cameras so they should have caught anyone who did this...I'll have my husband go back through the timeframe in question to see if this was possible.

How do you lock the outdoor faucets? Is this lock something I could go buy from Ace or Lowes?

 

[magic458]

Make them check. Ask for actual reading verification and work with them some.

I had a 2K bill at my studio and it was the equivalent of a 20,000 gallon pool. They had just put leak detection on the meters and thought it was a false reading. We settled for a smaller bill (don't get too pushy) $168 isn't worth the stress of fighting "city hall" IMHO