$600 water bill?? UPDATE on page 3

[mickeysgal]

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.

It was running. Just a bit every now and then. Nothing constant, but when we fixed it, the bill went back to our normal range.

 

[DeniseinNS]

Yikes!!! We pay around $600 for the YEAR.

 

[AustinTink]

Ok, I just talked to a totally awesome lady at the water company. She walked me through a process to *hopefully* get the bill adjusted once the leak is found and fixed. I will still pay the $600 now. And, in about 3 months the application for adjustment will be cleared for a credit, if it passes the criteria.

Fingers crossed. Plumber coming tomorrow. I won't even begin to think about what he will charge me.

 

[golfgal]

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.

We had some friends that had a similar "problem" found out that their neighbors were hooking up a hose to their house (outside spigot) and were using their water when they were not up there during the week.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

with that volume of water, if there was a leak you would be able to see your lawn bubbling up!

do any of your neighbors have a swimming pool and a long hose?

and do you have an outside spigot?

A friend of mine has a pool and he told me that when he drains it to clean it, then refill, it costs him about $400.00 or more in water bills!

 

[tvguy]

We have had a number of people around here who a private water company never billed for YEARS. The people thought the bill they got every other month for Public Utilities included water so never questioned it.
While they got bills for thousands, the water district policy is to only requiring them to pay for 3 months water since it was the districts error.
And when you think about it, that's really fair since the folks did use the water, and the real cost to a water district is the pipes to get the water to you, there is very little cost difference for them to sell you 600 gallons versus 60,000 gallons.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

We have had a number of people around here who a private water company never billed for YEARS. The people thought the bill they got every other month for Public Utilities included water so never questioned it.
While they got bills for thousands, the water district policy is to only requiring them to pay for 3 months water since it was the districts error.
And when you think about it, that's really fair since the folks did use the water, and the real cost to a water district is the pipes to get the water to you, there is very little cost difference for them to sell you 600 gallons versus 60,000 gallons.

really? because I live in california, and I just got my water bill. they bill water in HCF units (hundred cubic feet) and according to the bill that is roughly 758 gallons of water per HCF unit.

no cost difference? nope, not so. anything beyone your "baseline" HCF usage gets billed at a higher rate per HCF.

(and of course, they establish the baseline HCF usage in the wettest months of rainfall in california, when the actual usage is down for homeowners)

you had better believe that if you get 60,000 Gallons of water in california, you are going to get billed for it. especially when all over california they talk about different stages of water alerts. only watering lawns two or three minutes at a time and only three or four times a week, and so on.

ahh, sunshine tax!

 

[torinsmom]

I had that happen before. The water company suggested it was a leaky toilet. Not leaky, in that the water was leaking OUT of the toilet, but that the water was constantly leaking from the tank and being refilled. You would be amazed how much water can leak that way. They adjusted my bill when I brought them a receipt for buying my replacement toilet flapper, but a receipt from a plumber would have worked too.

So, you need time and energy to check this. Lots of going back and forth to the meter. Spray the wasps first, of course.

Anyway, the way I checked where the leak was first to do what someone suggested. Turn off your main water valve and look to see if the meter is still running. If you can't see the triangle, just note what the meter reads, leave the water off and go back in 15 minutes to see if the reading has changed. If it does not move, the leak is in your house. If it is still moving, don't panic! The leak could be between the meter and the road, which is the water company's problem. Between the meter and the house is yours, as is a leak inside the house.


Now to see what toilet is leaking(or IF one is leaking), turn the main water valve back on. Do not turn on any faucets or anything, and go check and see if the meter is running. It should be, since you already determined that the leak is in your house. So, now turn off all your toilets at the base(there is a valve that turns). Go check the meter again and if the meter has stopped running, it is one of the toilets. Now, turn one valve back on and check the meter. Continue until the meter starts running when you turn a toilet back on. THAT is the offending toilet. You can buy a new flapper thing at the hardware store and they are easy to install.

Can you tell I am a single mom who hates to pay for any repairmen?

 

[T*Bird]

I'm not the OP, but thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! Hopefully, I'll find the reason for my sky-high water bill, too. Torinsmom, I'm going to do just what you suggested when we go to our lake house this weekend!

 

[goofyernmost]

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

Maybe the wasp was thirsty! I know...not really funny

 

[tvguy]

really? because I live in california, and I just got my water bill. they bill water in HCF units (hundred cubic feet) and according to the bill that is roughly 758 gallons of water per HCF unit.

no cost difference? nope, not so. anything beyone your "baseline" HCF usage gets billed at a higher rate per HCF.

(and of course, they establish the baseline HCF usage in the wettest months of rainfall in california, when the actual usage is down for homeowners)

you had better believe that if you get 60,000 Gallons of water in california, you are going to get billed for it. especially when all over california they talk about different stages of water alerts. only watering lawns two or three minutes at a time and only three or four times a week, and so on.

ahh, sunshine tax!

Well, water meters used to be illegal here in Sacramento. Ordinance passed in the 1920's. We won't get into the politics (but you're drinking OUR water in Southern California ) but the legislature and Gray Davis changed that. My water meter got put in about 4 years ago, but this month will be my first metered bill. They are slowly phasing all of us off flat rate. But they have been putting the usage on the bills. My flat rate is $110 every two months, bill indicated my bill based on usage would drop to $60.
About 15 years ago Stockton went to water meters. It prompted so much conservation, that they weren't selling enough water to cover their fixed costs. So they had to raise rates!

 

[clh2]

THis thread kind of makes me glad we have our own well and septic. Although I can tell you exactly how much our new pump costs Averaged over the 20 years we've been in our house - about $200 per year.

To the OP - do you pay for sewer costs too? My parents get a water bill and a sewer bill, the sewer bill is based on the water usage. So - if you water bill is high, your sewer bill will be high too. Just warning you in advance that this might be coming too.

 

[AustinTink]

The bill just posted to my inbox. Drumroll please...............

$677

 

[Ponygirl]

The bill just posted to my inbox. Drumroll please...............

$677

Good lord! I'll fix another pitcher of margaritas and find the box of tissues. I'm crying for you.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I'm not the OP, but thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! Hopefully, I'll find the reason for my sky-high water bill, too. Torinsmom, I'm going to do just what you suggested when we go to our lake house this weekend!

If you don't find anything, they sell spigot locks for about $10 if you have an outside spigot. If you lock it up and the bill goes down, someone was using your water. I was ready to buy a couple because a neighbor child was using my water without permission but they moved so I didn't bother.

OP< yikes what a bill! I pay about $40 in the winter and $52 in the summer. I can't imagine $600. I hope they figure it out and it is on their end.

 

[AustinTink]

Good lord! I'll fix another pitcher of margaritas and find the box of tissues. I'm crying for you.

I'll take my margaritas with an extra shot of tequila, please. Did I mention my car is in the shop, too???

 

[pioneer89]

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.

I'm not sure how long it took for your meter to go from 60,000 to 79,000, but that's 19,000 gallons.

If it was 30 days, thats 633 gal/day, or 0.43 gal/min. That's about what a toilet running on would use.

 

[AustinTink]

I'm not sure how long it took for your meter to go from 60,000 to 79,000, but that's 19,000 gallons.

If it was 30 days, thats 633 gal/day, or 0.43 gal/min. That's about what a toilet running on would use.

It's still in the mid-60 thousands. The lady from the water company had a couple of holes in her info. Still enough for a $677 bill, though. Ugh.

The plumbers are here. They are saying it's probably clogged valves in our sprinkler system. We shall see.

 

[AustinTink]

So guess what can cause over 600 bucks worth of damage to your water bill???

A screw stuck in your sprinkler valve!!! A stupid 2.5 inch silver screw from who knows where was stuck in a valve. It couldn't close and was leaking constantly.

Stupid screw!!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

you dont have a manual turn off valve on your sprinklers?

bummer