Outragous Water Bill

[Happy Snowbird]

My most recent water bill was for 18,850 gallons and we were still up north for the summer and our water was turned off. Supposedly the water company checked the meter and it is reading correctly. Their only answer has been that there must have been a leak and that the water wasn't turned off. If nearly 19,000 gallons of water leaked my house or yard would have been flooded. There's no underground leak because days after the billing cycle there was no usage. I have a weekly homewatch person and if they had forgotten to turn off the water they would have realized it the next week and that wasn't the case. Last summer I had a bill for 3,000 gallons...again not there and water off. They tried to tell us a toilet must have been running....yea with the water turned off! We will be retuning to TV next week and I plan to go up the ladder meeting with people until I get a reasonable answer. 19,000 gallons.....that's a swimming pool. Any suggestions?

[Mleeja]

My most recent water bill was for 18,850 gallons and we were still up north for the summer and our water was turned off. Supposedly the water company checked the meter and it is reading correctly. Their only answer has been that there must have been a leak and that the water wasn't turned off. If nearly 19,000 gallons of water leaked my house or yard would have been flooded. There's no underground leak because days after the billing cycle there was no usage. I have a weekly homewatch person and if they had forgotten to turn off the water they would have realized it the next week and that wasn't the case. Last summer I had a bill for 3,000 gallons...again not there and water off. They tried to tell us a toilet must have been running....yea with the water turned off! We will be retuning to TV next week and I plan to go up the ladder meeting with people until I get a reasonable answer. 19,000 gallons.....that's a swimming pool. Any suggestions?

Sprinkler line leaking? With our sandy soil, the water may not bubble up.

[Sgroemm]

Hmmmm....did one of your neighbors just get a swimming pool filled?

[Happy Snowbird]

The gallons were for water/sewer, not irrigation.

[village dreamer]

the float in the toilet is stuck open, all that water is going down the drain.

[Happy Snowbird]

HaHa....I don't think anyone got a pool.

[Happy Snowbird]

Can't be a toilet issue with water turned off.

[village dreamer]

and that's why you should shut off the water , when not home for more than a few days

[Aloha1]

OP says the water WAS shut off.

[village dreamer]

you say home watch shuts off your water... oops.

[dirtbanker]

Well when you get here: Make sure all the faucets and the garden hose is turned off, unplug the sprinkler control box. Turn the water on and read the meter. If it is showing water being used, go inside and check to see if the toilets have running water. If the toilets are not running water, all faucets are off, and the sprinkler system is off...you should not be using any water. If the meter is showing water usage at this point, you need to call a plumber as you have a leak between house and meter or under slab of house (they run copper tubing from bathroom to bathroom under slab here).

If the meter shows no usage with all faucets and the sprinkler system off; I would suspect the sprinkler system has a leak. Look for dollar weed in the lawn (it flourishes in wet ground).

[Happy Snowbird]

I hear what you are saying of a possible leak. The billing period stopped 9/21 and the water co said there was no usage from 9/20 to 10/3, the date I spoke with them. If there is a leak wouldn’t there have been usage from 9/29 to 10/3? I last spoke to them on 10/16 and water usage was minimal...homewatch flushes toilets, runs dishwater...again how could there be a leak? Normal usage in our absence is 30 gals. The high usage was for water/sewer so the irrigation shouldn't come into play? The info from the water co is so conflicting....high usage to minimal usage. Certainly glad the usage is back to normal but leaves a lot of unexplainable causes for the one month excessive use....18,850 gals!

[CFrance]

I hear what you are saying of a possible leak. The billing period stopped 9/21 and the water co said there was no usage from 9/20 to 10/3, the date I spoke with them. If there is a leak wouldn’t there have been usage from 9/29 to 10/3? I last spoke to them on 10/16 and water usage was minimal...homewatch flushes toilets, runs dishwater...again how could there be a leak? Normal usage in our absence is 30 gals. The high usage was for water/sewer so the irrigation shouldn't come into play? The info from the water co is so conflicting....high usage to minimal usage. Certainly glad the usage is back to normal but leaves a lot of unexplainable causes for the one month excessive use....18,850 gals!
Possible scenario:

Home watch forgot to shut water off
Leak in toilet
You receive outrageous water bill and call home watch
They deny problem and secretly go turn water off
From that time forward water meter records no usage

Our home watch forgot to do two things they said would be done prior to our return. One was minor, although it required getting up on a ladder. The other was major, the result being the softener wasn't running for a month until we realized they hadn't turned it back on (plug hidden behind garage shelves & we didn't check to make sure it was plugged back in, which was our bad as well).

[rubicon]

My most recent water bill was for 18,850 gallons and we were still up north for the summer and our water was turned off. Supposedly the water company checked the meter and it is reading correctly. Their only answer has been that there must have been a leak and that the water wasn't turned off. If nearly 19,000 gallons of water leaked my house or yard would have been flooded. There's no underground leak because days after the billing cycle there was no usage. I have a weekly homewatch person and if they had forgotten to turn off the water they would have realized it the next week and that wasn't the case. Last summer I had a bill for 3,000 gallons...again not there and water off. They tried to tell us a toilet must have been running....yea with the water turned off! We will be retuning to TV next week and I plan to go up the ladder meeting with people until I get a reasonable answer. 19,000 gallons.....that's a swimming pool. Any suggestions?

given the fixed flat rates and then a 3 tier usage system the Water utility has an opinion that they are sending liquid gold through our pipes.

I have called SECO because our bill is $100 + more this month . the rep checked our history and agreed we never had near that much usage. they promised to take another reading and contact before payment comes due on this invoice.

[graciegirl]

I think it isn't Seco.

Water cost here is less than in Ohio where we lived.

We had a broken pipe to our pool at one point and that spiked the water bill.

[l2ridehd]

If homewatch turns off the water, how do they flush toilets and run dishwasher every week? Do they turn it on and off again with every visit? If that is the plan, IMHO they forgot to turn it off again and you have a faulty toilet flapper. I have used homewatch and never found one that turns the water off and on every week. Perhaps some do, but if so I bet they forgot one time when in a hurry and decided not to wait for dishwasher to finish.

When you get here, turn on water, flush all toilets and look for one that keeps running. My bet is you will find the problem.

[skip0358]

Look at your bill and see if it was irrigation or potable water!
They are 2 separate meters and 2 separate shut offs. Potable is shut off in the garage by the valve in the wall. Irrigation either by your timer being shut off or in the control box up by your house not the meter box. I suspect it was irrigation water that wasn't shut off but I don't see your bill.

[graciegirl]

Look at your bill and see if it was irrigation or potable water!
They are 2 separate meters and 2 separate shut offs. Potable is shut off in the garage by the valve in the wall. Irrigation either by your timer being shut off or in the control box up by your house not the meter box. I suspect it was irrigation water that wasn't shut off but I don't see your bill.

This is true SOUTH of 466. North of 466 it is all the same water.

[skip0358]

This is true SOUTH of 466. North of 466 it is all the same water.

Yea your right as usual. ha ha keep forgetting about the older side

[Happy Snowbird]

Skip0358...It was portable water

[Happy Snowbird]

I2ridehd...yes, homewatch turns water on/off every week. Could a faulty toilet flap actually use almost 19000 gallons in one week? Homewatch would have known they forgot to turn off water the next week they came and they don't recall this happening. And yes, based on what homewatch has done for me I totally trust her.

[skip0358]

Skip0358...It was portable water

That being the case I tend to think toilet flapper hung up also.

[784caroline]

I had a case this summer where there was a water leak on the homeowners side of the water meter but BEFORE the house shutoff in the garage. The PVC pipe had a hairline crack in it that resulted in alot of water running through the (potable) meter but never made it into the house. Check for standing water right at the meter box

[Henryk]

Well when you get here: Make sure all the faucets and the garden hose is turned off, unplug the sprinkler control box. Turn the water on and read the meter. If it is showing water being used, go inside and check to see if the toilets have running water. If the toilets are not running water, all faucets are off, and the sprinkler system is off...you should not be using any water. If the meter is showing water usage at this point, you need to call a plumber as you have a leak between house and meter or under slab of house (they run copper tubing from bathroom to bathroom under slab here).

If the meter shows no usage with all faucets and the sprinkler system off; I would suspect the sprinkler system has a leak. Look for dollar weed in the lawn (it flourishes in wet ground).

I was a water billing person at one point. Leaky toilets can use an ASTONISHING amount of water. To test your toilet, wait until the tank is full for ten minutes. Add a few drops of food coloring to the tank. Wait ten minutes. If the colored water shows up in the bowl, you have a leak.

[Retiring]

Water bills are a strange nut to crack sometimes. I recall, 20+ years ago, my parents received a huge water bill - $5k for one quarter (NY). This was before electronic reading of water meters, they used to come to the home and manually read the meter. My parents, not in the mood to “fight city hall,” said if I can correct the error I could keep half. It took 6 weeks of constant calling for the water people to come out and re-read the meter. They just would not accept there was an error on their end, as one lady put it “we don’t make mistakes.” They finally came out to re-read, probably to shut me up, and the previous reading was in fact an error. All monies refunded. Dealing with bureaucracies can be a real pain in the donkey.

[Aruca]

My water bill was 20,000 gallons...no one is at house..neighbor checks every week no leaking or running water, sprinklers off, called utility waiting for them to go out and check meter
Norm is 10,000 when we are there - something is fishy!

[l2ridehd]

I2ridehd...yes, homewatch turns water on/off every week. Could a faulty toilet flap actually use almost 19000 gallons in one week? Homewatch would have known they forgot to turn off water the next week they came and they don't recall this happening. And yes, based on what homewatch has done for me I totally trust her.

It takes about a minute to fill a toilet tank which is 3 to 3.5 gallons. That is 60 X 3 or 180 gallons an hour or 180 X 24 which is 4300 gallons a day which in 7 days could be 28,000 gallons. So maybe yours takes a minute and 15 seconds to fill for the 19000 in a week.

[Happy Snowbird]

Aruca...please keep me posted on your issue. We may be able to "fight city hall" together.

[autumnspring]

I2ridehd...yes, homewatch turns water on/off every week. Could a faulty toilet flap actually use almost 19000 gallons in one week? Homewatch would have known they forgot to turn off water the next week they came and they don't recall this happening. And yes, based on what homewatch has done for me I totally trust her.

We used home watch for several months before we moved into our newly built home. I do not recall them saying that they shut off the main water valve. Frankly, if, you have ever done it, at least in our home, IT IS A REAL PAIN to do. The valves are plastic and ours was located about an inch above the floor-it is a real pain to close it.

Our section was built four years ago and we have Kohler toilets. I don't know if the've changed it but our toilets all had pink colored parts in the flush mechanism. Someone mentioned a flapper. It is not a flapper but a cylinder mechanism. The pink parts fail in about a year. The better gaskets are yellow in color. They cost about $7.00 at Lowes, Home Depo, Ace kind of stores and take you about 15-20 minutes to put in. Our pink failed in a year. The yellow ones have lasted 3 years and are still working fine.

[Happy Snowbird]

Well...we are back in TV so I followed Henryk's suggestion. I put food coloring in both toilet tanks and after 2 hours no color had leaked into the bowls. I took pictures every 30 minutes to show the water utility. Had it been a leak outside the tank/toilet my house would have been flooded. The fact that my usage was "0" at a point of time talking with the water utility after my 19,000 gallon bill, there can't be a leak underground. I close all my sink drains so a leak there would have filled the sink. My on site discussion with the water utility should be interesting. Waiting until I receive the latest bill to see if there are any discrepancies.

[rubicon]

If homewatch turns off the water, how do they flush toilets and run dishwasher every week? Do they turn it on and off again with every visit? If that is the plan, IMHO they forgot to turn it off again and you have a faulty toilet flapper. I have used homewatch and never found one that turns the water off and on every week. Perhaps some do, but if so I bet they forgot one time when in a hurry and decided not to wait for dishwasher to finish.

When you get here, turn on water, flush all toilets and look for one that keeps running. My bet is you will find the problem.

Replaced my toilet flippers twice so far (in 11 years)

[Happy Snowbird]

Rubicon...we are here and neither toilet keeps running. Put coloring into tanks and no leakage. Will repeat in a few days. We have also previously changed the internal workings of our toilets, in fact probably within the last 2-3 years. Had a plumber in last year to check things....everything good. Now 2 parts to my issue...excessive usage and curiosity how it happens. You would think it would be easy to find the problem when you have a water usage of 19,000 gals when nobody is living in the house at the time and supposedly the water was off. Just want some answers to prevent future issues.

[graciegirl]

Rubicon...we are here and neither toilet keeps running. Put coloring into tanks and no leakage. Will repeat in a few days. We have also previously changed the internal workings of our toilets, in fact probably within the last 2-3 years. Had a plumber in last year to check things....everything good. Now 2 parts to my issue...excessive usage and curiosity how it happens. You would think it would be easy to find the problem when you have a water usage of 19,000 gals when nobody is living in the house at the time and supposedly the water was off. Just want some answers to prevent future issues.

Do you live south of 466? Outside water is separate.

[mtdjed]

Logic will prevail. Put down all the facts. Isolate timing of usage. What could have happened? Verify meter reading. Leaks do not normally cure themselves no do faulty meters. But I did get a bad bill once due to a faulty meter reading. But it did self correct when the next months reading occurred. If you had leak between house and outdoor meter, it would not heal itself.

If your irrigation system is separate and the bill was strictly limited to house usage, you have no visible leaks, and the meter appears to have been read correctly, I would look to human issue. Does Homewatch use hose outside to water any plants. Could that have been accidently left on and water not shut off on the inside? Any contract work occurring in your immediate vicinity? Notice any new plantings in the immediate area?

Good luck "UN" HappySnowbird

[PaulDenise]

Rather than speculate about the meter being read wrong, why don't you just go outside and write down the meter reading yourself and then compare it to the meter reading on your bill??

[Henryk]

Rubicon...we are here and neither toilet keeps running. Put coloring into tanks and no leakage. Will repeat in a few days. We have also previously changed the internal workings of our toilets, in fact probably within the last 2-3 years. Had a plumber in last year to check things....everything good. Now 2 parts to my issue...excessive usage and curiosity how it happens. You would think it would be easy to find the problem when you have a water usage of 19,000 gals when nobody is living in the house at the time and supposedly the water was off. Just want some answers to prevent future issues.

Happy, is your meter in a place where you can observe it? The indicators on the meter should be motionless if there is no water running.

Has the meter been swapped out? (Old meters sometimes fail and are replaced.)

Was the usage estimated? Does the meter reading agree with the bill?

[redwitch]

If homewatch turns off the water, how do they flush toilets and run dishwasher every week? Do they turn it on and off again with every visit? If that is the plan, IMHO they forgot to turn it off again and you have a faulty toilet flapper. I have used homewatch and never found one that turns the water off and on every week. Perhaps some do, but if so I bet they forgot one time when in a hurry and decided not to wait for dishwasher to finish.

When you get here, turn on water, flush all toilets and look for one that keeps running. My bet is you will find the problem.


Only reason your water was never turned off was because your maintenance guy frequently needed to use a hose and you had a pool. Otherwise, water should be turned off and turned on for house check, then off again.

[redwitch]

I had a case this summer where there was a water leak on the homeowners side of the water meter but BEFORE the house shutoff in the garage. The PVC pipe had a hairline crack in it that resulted in alot of water running through the (potable) meter but never made it into the house. Check for standing water right at the meter box

This would be the most logical explanation but for the fact your bill is now normal. Sadly, this leaves human error. Odds are your homewatch forgot to turn off a faucet and didn’t shut the water off for some reason between checking house. Error happens. To not tell you is another issue.

[autumnspring]

Water bills are a strange nut to crack sometimes. I recall, 20+ years ago, my parents received a huge water bill - $5k for one quarter (NY). This was before electronic reading of water meters, they used to come to the home and manually read the meter. My parents, not in the mood to “fight city hall,” said if I can correct the error I could keep half. It took 6 weeks of constant calling for the water people to come out and re-read the meter. They just would not accept there was an error on their end, as one lady put it “we don’t make mistakes.” They finally came out to re-read, probably to shut me up, and the previous reading was in fact an error. All monies refunded. Dealing with bureaucracies can be a real pain in the donkey.

It is NORMAL for most/many companies to see what they can get away with. A non-fought overcharge does go into profit but for a large company such as a water company it means they do not need do anything.

RE: can't be an error on our end
I always demand the name of the person who said that.
Be sure to ask for an id number. Many of the people you talk to use false names. Ask for a supervisor-they often use a consistent if false name. When, the matter is settled
and the company is found to be wrong send a registered return receipt letter to the company president AND DEMAND AN APOLOGY LETTER SIGNED BY BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND THE EMPLOYEE INVOLVED.

[Aruca]

My water bill was 20,000 with no one living in home at the time...explanation when i call V-Office..they said due to Hurricane an ESTIMATE of previous bill was made and it was too low -this was the adjustment...My last bill was lower than usual.

[graciegirl]

It is NORMAL for most/many companies to see what they can get away with. A non-fought overcharge does go into profit but for a large company such as a water company it means they do not need do anything.

RE: can't be an error on our end
I always demand the name of the person who said that.
Be sure to ask for an id number. Many of the people you talk to use false names. Ask for a supervisor-they often use a consistent if false name. When, the matter is settled
and the company is found to be wrong send a registered return receipt letter to the company president AND DEMAND AN APOLOGY LETTER SIGNED BY BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND THE EMPLOYEE INVOLVED.


Now wait. Who exactly is the perp? Why would someone who worked for the water company try to insert a one time overuse??? That has no motive...how would any one individual profit?

I think it is more likely a break in the outside pipes somewhere or the house watch person left the water running for a very long time.

[autumnspring]

Logic will prevail. Put down all the facts. Isolate timing of usage. What could have happened? Verify meter reading. Leaks do not normally cure themselves no do faulty meters. But I did get a bad bill once due to a faulty meter reading. But it did self correct when the next months reading occurred. If you had leak between house and outdoor meter, it would not heal itself.

If your irrigation system is separate and the bill was strictly limited to house usage, you have no visible leaks, and the meter appears to have been read correctly, I would look to human issue. Does Homewatch use hose outside to water any plants. Could that have been accidently left on and water not shut off on the inside? Any contract work occurring in your immediate vicinity? Notice any new plantings in the immediate area?

Good luck "UN" HappySnowbird

Our system they have a person who goes around and reads electronically through a plastic cover in our lawn. I saw the person one day and asked him about it as I had wondered how they remove the plate and perfectly put it back. So you/we are trying to have a conversation with a CLERK who BELIEVES the computer-their god-is always right.

RE: self correcting
If, you look at your water bill you will see as you use more water, you pay far more for each gallon used. Thus, if you use the minimum in Jan, a 1,000 gallon error might cost you nothing. In feb if you are in the highest pay group due to more usage, it will cost you far more.

[autumnspring]

Now wait. Who exactly is the perp? Why would someone who worked for the water company try to insert a one time overuse??? That has no motive...how would any one individual profit?

I think it is more likely a break in the outside pipes somewhere or the house watch person left the water running for a very long time.

Dealing with a company such as a water company, they need their books to balance. Insert a one time over use, IF THE CUSTOMER PAYS, does not want to bother, solves the problem.

That is why, I would spend the time to investigate and if the company is found to be wrong I WOULD DEMAND A SIGNED APOLOGY FROM THE EMPLOYEE who claimed the computer is always right and THE COMPANY PRESIDENT.

I truly do not do this often BUT, too long stories to share-
I have a letter from CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES AND THE BANK INVOLVED IN THAT FIASCO, and another time THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD. I do not have an apology JUST long since cashed checks from a plumber due to overcharges and the mover we used to do doublespeak THEFT.

The water company as you do not have a choice they will and DO bully they can bully you. BUT, they only can if your allow them.

The biblical story of David vs Goliath if true-I read the story as Goliath successfully bullied all but David. The common people THE MASS OF PEOPLE knew he was a fool.
You of course know who WON. Had David fought the battle that Goliath expected some people say a fair fight?
We know who would have lost.

I've fought Goliath several times. Perhaps, for all the people TOO SMART to do it.

[Happy Snowbird]

Graciegirl....I'm not saying anyone did anything intentionally and I'm not looking for "blame". I just want to know how I could use 19,000 gals when not even here. When we are here our usage is ~3,000. I do know there is no underground leak because, as I've stated before, there were several days after the 19,000 with "0" usage....a leak would have shown some usage. I have confidence in my homewatch who comes weekly. If she had left the water on it would have only been for a week. A leak of 19,000 gals would have flooded my house or if outside would have shown water laying on the surface. I put food coloring in my toilet tanks and it did not leak into the toilet bowl. So....where is the problem? I asked if I could have gotten someone elses bill, "no"; could my usage be an accumulaton of more than one meter reading, "no". After this month's bill I am going to speak to the person in charge at the water utility and continue on up from there. I feel I deserve answers and that I have legitimate reasons as mentioned above that it couldn't have been a leak. I took pictures over a 2 hour period showing no food coloring leaked into the toilet bowl and will do several more times. Again, I'm not looking for "blame", only answers. I really would like someone to say that 19,000 gals is unusual, let me check into it rather than an immediate "no" or the more popular "I don't know".

[graciegirl]

Graciegirl....I'm not saying anyone did anything intentionally and I'm not looking for "blame". I just want to know how I could use 19,000 gals when not even here. When we are here our usage is ~3,000. I do know there is no underground leak because, as I've stated before, there were several days after the 19,000 with "0" usage....a leak would have shown some usage. I have confidence in my homewatch who comes weekly. If she had left the water on it would have only been for a week. A leak of 19,000 gals would have flooded my house or if outside would have shown water laying on the surface. I put food coloring in my toilet tanks and it did not leak into the toilet bowl. So....where is the problem? I asked if I could have gotten someone elses bill, "no"; could my usage be an accumulaton of more than one meter reading, "no". After this month's bill I am going to speak to the person in charge at the water utility and continue on up from there. I feel I deserve answers and that I have legitimate reasons as mentioned above that it couldn't have been a leak. I took pictures over a 2 hour period showing no food coloring leaked into the toilet bowl and will do several more times. Again, I'm not looking for "blame", only answers. I really would like someone to say that 19,000 gals is unusual, let me check into it rather than an immediate "no" or the more popular "I don't know".

Here it says that the average sink allows water to run at a rate of three gallons per minute.
The Average Sink Faucet: Gallons of Water Per Minute | Hunker (https://www.hunker.com/13415104/the-average-sink-faucet-gallons-of-water-per-minute)

[Happy Snowbird]

That's a lot of water. Our drains are all closed when we aren't here, and were closed upon our arrival, so a faucet leak would have been obvious regardless of the amount of flow. I appreciate all the information.

[New Englander]

Sounds to me that somewhere along the line there was a big error. Maybe the meter reading device malfunctioned or something like that. Or maybe a computer error.

[PaulDenise]

Happy Snowbird-- If you send me your phone number in a private message thru this site, I will come over and read your meter for you.

That at least will show if the meter was read properly.

[rubicon]

I posted earlier (#14) that we had a SECO bill with a total of $100+ more than we had ever had in 11 years here.

We called SECO said they would have a guy out to re-read meter and call us before bill due. Bill came due and no call. We called they apologized for not getting back to us. They did misread the meter deducted the overcharge and we made payment

[villages07]

They have been replacing many of the water meters in areas that are 10-12years old. Did you notice if you have a new meter where the reading started over at 0?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Happy Snowbird]

Villages07....Per the water utility, our water meter has not been replaced.

[pauld315]

I hear what you are saying of a possible leak. The billing period stopped 9/21 and the water co said there was no usage from 9/20 to 10/3, the date I spoke with them. If there is a leak wouldn’t there have been usage from 9/29 to 10/3? I last spoke to them on 10/16 and water usage was minimal...homewatch flushes toilets, runs dishwater...again how could there be a leak? Normal usage in our absence is 30 gals. The high usage was for water/sewer so the irrigation shouldn't come into play? The info from the water co is so conflicting....high usage to minimal usage. Certainly glad the usage is back to normal but leaves a lot of unexplainable causes for the one month excessive use....18,850 gals!

What dates did your homewatch service check your house? My guess is that they came in, turned on the water to flush toilets etc and left without turning it off. One of the toilets valves stuck open and the water ran in your toilet for a week before they came back the next week. My grandaughter left the toilet running one time at my house in NC and in 2 hours it went through almost 300 gallons in those 2 hours so 19000 gallons in a week is not a stretch. Where my house is in NC they have a system called Aquastar and I can actually see water usage by the hour.

[l2ridehd]

Graciegirl....I'm not saying anyone did anything intentionally and I'm not looking for "blame". I just want to know how I could use 19,000 gals when not even here. When we are here our usage is ~3,000. I do know there is no underground leak because, as I've stated before, there were several days after the 19,000 with "0" usage....a leak would have shown some usage. I have confidence in my homewatch who comes weekly. If she had left the water on it would have only been for a week. A leak of 19,000 gals would have flooded my house or if outside would have shown water laying on the surface. I put food coloring in my toilet tanks and it did not leak into the toilet bowl. So....where is the problem? I asked if I could have gotten someone elses bill, "no"; could my usage be an accumulaton of more than one meter reading, "no". After this month's bill I am going to speak to the person in charge at the water utility and continue on up from there. I feel I deserve answers and that I have legitimate reasons as mentioned above that it couldn't have been a leak. I took pictures over a 2 hour period showing no food coloring leaked into the toilet bowl and will do several more times. Again, I'm not looking for "blame", only answers. I really would like someone to say that 19,000 gals is unusual, let me check into it rather than an immediate "no" or the more popular "I don't know".

If your home watch person did not turn the water off and a toilet flapper did not close completely after flushing, 19,000 gallons going down the drain in a week is very possible. Your house will not flood with it going down the drain. Just time how long it takes to fill your toilet tank and do the math. And just because it failed that one time doesn't mean it will fail every time you test it. However it will fail again sometime. This can and will happen. Ask any plumber and they will tell you how many times they have seen this happen.

[Marathon Man]

I agree with many of the replies. Rather than considering that having the water off proves that the meter is bad, you should consider that the meter proves that the water was not shut off. I would be talking to your home watch.

[tlampela@comcast.net]

Please let me know if you get any results. My first water bill was for 57,000 gal--and we were gone a week that month. No usage. Also said we must've had a "leak", water running, etc. They wouldn't budge.

[graciegirl]

I agree with many of the replies. Rather than considering that having the water off proves that the meter is bad, you should consider that the meter proves that the water was not shut off. I would be talking to your home watch.

I side with you.

AND there is a lot of discussion on water bills stored on this forum. Type in "water bill" in search above and you can go back several years.


Here is one;

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/what-you-monthly-water-usage-198876/?highlight=Water+bill

[NoMoSno]

It's not uncommon that water meters are faulty.
https://www.google.com/search?q=electronic+water+meter+reading+errors&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJo7jG14zXAhVBziYKHYd4DisQ1QIIiAEoBA&biw=1468&bih=770

https://www.google.com/search?q=city+of+atlanta+faulty+water+meters&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8