Ridiculously high water meter-readings and bill...?

Question

Please bear with me; I'm just trying to explain as much as possible:

I keep all my past water bills, which have been at an average of 7,500 gallons consumed per month. Now I have a bill this month saying 73,000 gallons have been used! The water company said that these high readings have been taken since March, and only this month they stopped making the estimates and adjustments (which essentially gave us the illusion of our typical readings). If I were to claim our actual usage to be 7,500 gallons a month, for those six high-read months, then that still leaves us with an unaccounted-for consumption of 28,000 gallons.

Question(s): What could be the possible reasons for such a thing, if there are no obvious leaks in my house (although the sweep hand is rotating slowly, even with all water off)? A busted underground pipe maybe? Is it even possible for someone to siphon our water? The water pressure in our house is also quite low at times, if that matters...

The reading on our meter is indeed correct, so on the phone with the water company I brought up the possibility of an error within the meter itself. But the lady seemed to disregard that possibility. There's also a slightly frayed wire that's attached to the meter, but I don't know if that interferes with the readings since I have no idea why it's there.

Thanks a lot if you can help!

Answer 1

There are some possible reasons that your water bill is high.

1: you could have a busted underground water line leading to your house.

2: If you have a crawl space, there could be some pipes that are fixing to break and cause a major problem.

3: You could have a leaky water heater.(Happened to me)

Your water heater could have a slow leak that is leaking out the heating element. And that means that your heating element is fixing to go out and once it does, it will usually bust open and start leaking heavily.

My water heater did that one night.(while I was sleeping). I woke up to find my laundry room flooded and then came the high water bill.

And your meter could (really be faulty).(I work for the cities water department) They will go bad eventually.

Hope I helped some.

Answer 2

You must have a leak between your meter and your house. All you can do is dig it up and fix it.

Answer 3

That is exactly what happened to my next door neighbor, he had a broken pipe under ground between the street and the house.  He wondered why the garden on his front hillside was doing so much better than any other he had in his yard.  I've also had broken sprinkler pipes and leaky valves which will cause increased water use.  I'm surprised that the water company won't come out for an inspection of the meter and pipes.  I live in a water conservation area where they are most concerned when meter readings get so out of line that they will contact you and request access to inspect.  Maybe the next time you call, don't talk to billing.  Talk to someone in the maintenance or repairs department and request assistance as you suspect a break in the line or a malfunctioning meter.

Answer 4

You're leaking somewhere.  Although it could be underground, you would have noticed a sinkhole by now.  Check your toilets again, then begin to suspect a leak inside a wall.

Answer 5

You state that the dial indicator is spinning.  This means water is flowing somewhere.  Find the main water shut off valve close to the point of entry to the house, and turn it off.  Check the meter again, and if the dial indicator is still spinning, you have a leak between the meter and the house.  Look for moist areas in the yard, as it should be easy to spot the general vicinity of the leak.  Any breaks after the meter, are the responsibility of the customer.  If the dial indicator doesn't move, after turning off the main valve, there is a leak inside the house somewhere.  Check all toilets, they are the #1 culprit when it comes to wasting water.  Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, don't flush, and wait about 10 minutes, and check inside the bowl, for any sign of the food coloring.  If you see the food coloring in the bowl, your flapper needs replacement.  Good luck!

Answer 6

Hi. I looked at the other posts and they all have some good posts. The troublesome part about your meter is the movement with all the water shut down. Can you track down all the places in your home where water might be consumed. Like turning off all the toilets under the tanks and watching the meter for usage? Another thought is that you can keep a log for a week with beginning and ending usage off the meter and see if there are any spikes. This may help you with the argument with the water department. I know that a meter can be bad and they do too. I would call management when you get a few statistics going and lay it in front of them if it shows water use in the normal range.