$600 water bill?? UPDATE on page 3

[AustinTink]

Where's the fainting smiley? The water company just called and said my bill for this month will be over 600 bucks and they suspect a leak on my property. They are coming out with a tech to be sure the leak is not on their end.

I am freaking out.

 

[~disneydiva~]

Where's the fainting smiley? The water company just called and said my bill for this month will be over 600 bucks and they suspect a leak on my property. They are coming out with a tech to be sure the leak is not on their end.

I am freaking out.

 

[Hannathy]

Go ahead and freak cause if the leak is on your end you have to pay! Be thankful they picked up on it this early. We just had a case where it wasn't discovered to the bill was in the thousands and guess who had to pay, yep the man whose house it was. Went all the way to the Utilities commission or some other state board and it ruled the owner was responsible.

 

[PixieTl]

but do talk to them about that leak! I did have a friend who had a leaky toilet and she got it fixed after a really high bill, she talked to the water company and they did knock down the bill for her!

 

[dislaney]

Ouch! That's a lot of water!

 

[gvillemama]

Definitely ask for an adjustment if the leak is on your side. I work for a water company and we give a customer an adjustment for a leak once every 12 months. We figure your 12 month average usage, then take the difference between that and your current usage and figure the adjustment from there. We absorb half the leak and the customer pays for half of the leak.

 

[Hannathy]

Definitely ask for an adjustment if the leak is on your side. I work for a water company and we give a customer an adjustment for a leak once every 12 months. We figure your 12 month average usage, then take the difference between that and your current usage and figure the adjustment from there. We absorb half the leak and the customer pays for half of the leak.

Wow you are nice ours didn't do that for the people up here!

 

[AustinTink]

Ok, so first thing the water company is coming back in 1-3 days to check and see if the leak is theirs.

I called our plumber who was just out a week ago installing a new pressure relief valve. I thought maybe it somehow was related. He had me go outside and see if the water meter was spinning. It wasn't. They said that's how they determine first off if there is a leak. I'm going nuts over here.

When the meter was read we were at 60,000 gallons. Now it's at 79,000 gallons. This is 4 times our normal.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

If the leak is on their side, it would not turn your meter. If it is after the meter then it is something leaking from the meter to your house. If you know where your meter is, just take a look at the reading, and without running any water...flushing, washing hands, etc....after a period of time, 10 or 15 minutes, the meter should not move. If it does, there is a problem in your house.

 

[golfgal]

I would be freaking out too-we don't spend that much in a YEAR on water. We were pretty happy that our summer use was only 40 gallons more then our winter use (we have had a lot of rain and haven't had to water much at all). Here's hoping the leak is on the CITY side of things.

 

[brerrabbit]

On the face of your meter is a blue triangle and if the blue triangle is moving, water is flowing. You won't be able to see the meter hands moving if water is running but the blue triangle will move if any water is moving. Turn the main valve into your house off and look at the meter. If the triangle is spinning then the leak is between the meter and your house. Walk the most logical and direct path from the meter to the cut off valve for your house and look for wet ground. By doing this you can determine if the leak is in your house or outside your house. You live in Austin and I know its been really hot there but you don't have the same soil we do down around the coast. We get broken lines from time to time because we have what is called gumbo soil. It is really heavy with clay in it that expands when wet and skrinks up when dry putting pressure on the water supply line. That big a leak should be detectable in your yard if its between the meter and the house.

 

[Ponygirl]

I'd like to offer you a sympathy margarita. If you like, you can have the rest of the pitcher.

 

[AustinTink]

On the face of your meter is a blue triangle and if the blue triangle is moving, water is flowing. You won't be able to see the meter hands moving if water is running but the blue triangle will move if any water is moving. Turn the main valve into your house off and look at the meter. If the triangle is spinning then the leak is between the meter and your house. Walk the most logical and direct path from the meter to the cut off valve for your house and look for wet ground. By doing this you can determine if the leak is in your house or outside your house. You live in Austin and I know its been really hot there but you don't have the same soil we do down around the coast. We get broken lines from time to time because we have what is called gumbo soil. It is really heavy with clay in it that expands when wet and skrinks up when dry putting pressure on the water supply line. That big a leak should be detectable in your yard if its between the meter and the house.

I couldn't find the blue triangle. And, to make matters worse, there are humungous wasps on my meter.

 

[AustinTink]

I'd like to offer you a sympathy margarita. If you like, you can have the rest of the pitcher.

Guzzle, guzzle.... thanks!

 

[JessicaR]

Oh man! I hope it turns out in your favor...

 

[brerrabbit]

Your meter is in the ground, right? You might have to wipe off the glass face a bit to see it. Take a big can of bug spray for the wasps.

 

[AustinTink]

Ok, so the plumber who charges $65 for the 1st half hour and $1.5 a minute thereafter, will be coming out tomorrow to find the leak. We now think it's my sprinkler system. I found a head that is wet and the ground is soggy around it.

But, really, can a busted sprinkler head rack up 80,000 gallons of water and counting???

I'm crying over here. The water company now says they won't give me a break on the bill.

Oh, and by the way my car is in the shop, too. Looks like ramen noodles for me for a while, 'til this is all paid off.

 

[T*Bird]

We have a similar problem going on. We own a house at a lake that we go to every other weekend or so. The water bill is usually $10-$15 a month. I got a bill last week for $160! We checked the meter, and it is what the bill says it reads, but there is no way our bill should be that high. I called the water company, and they told me to check for leaks, inside and outside. I didn't see anything evident. If there was a leak (that caused that much of an increase) wouldn't it be obvious? Like wet or soggy ground? Some weekends we even turn the water off at the house. I'm just not sure what our next step should be. OP, I feel for you. I'm freaking out over $160, so I don"t know what I would do if it was $600! I hope you get yours cleared up soon.

 

[mickeysgal]

Oh my gosh, I'm sick over this for you!

We had a leaky toilet and ran up a whopper of a bill over the course of one month. Nothing compared to yours but it was high enough. It's amazing how much leaking water can add up.

 

[T*Bird]

Oh my gosh, I'm sick over this for you!

We had a leaky toilet and ran up a whopper of a bill over the course of one month. Nothing compared to yours but it was high enough. It's amazing how much leaking water can add up.

I hate to sound so dumb, but if your toilet is leaking, would there be water on the floor? Or is it just "running" or something like that? I'm trying to figure how our bill is so high at our lake house, which is empty for most of the time.