Here is the link to a thread that I posted some time ago about an irrigation system issue that we had:
OUR STORY: Bldg./Warranty Depts./Utility Co./VHA/Dist. Admin. YOU DECIDE....
Yours is a completely different issue in that for you something changed in the course of the time that the house existed. In our case, the problem was there from day 1 of the construction of the house, which initially was occupied by a frail, elderly couple and owned (and presumably bills paid) by a family trust until purchased by us when the house was 3-1/2 years old.
The only reason I'm mentioning this is to suggest that you NOT expect any kind of support or remediation from the utility company or, for that matter, any official Villages department. Their mantra is 'one-year warranty' and in fact only a one-month warranty on the irrigation system. (Imagine the challenge of figuring out that there may be a leak when you don't get the first water bill till after a month!) It was from an employee of the utility company that I learned that our enormous irrigation water bills existed from the day the house was built. However, once she notified her higher-ups about this, suddenly she--and everyone else--got much more circumspect. I can only hope that this woman didn't get in trouble for her initial honesty....
The meters are in the ground on the front lawn with a cover over them. If you live in an area where potable water is separate from irrigation water (as in our case), one meter is on one side of the lawn and the other on the other. There are two meters in each location: one for your house and one for the house next door.