Rising cost of combined monthly Amenities/Water bill
 

I've noticed over the last 4 months my combined Amenities/Water/Sewer bill has gone up about $20 each month. In March it was $235.00 and this month it is up to $272. I was just wondering if this is normal or if it may signify a problem (and what may be the cause)? I have no problem if this is a normal occurance, maybe the time of year or something, but want to have it fixed if there is a problem. Thanks in advance. I do have tenants in my house but they have not been doing anything unusual and they checked to make sure nothing is leaking.

Irrigation for your lawn? Also, check sprinkler heads for leaks, broken, etc.

More water use = larger bill
Less water use = smaller bill

Thank you, no kidding. shouldn't have been that much larger water bill in March/April. Tenants turned the sprinkler system down so didn't go off as often. They didn't start taking 5 showers a day either.
As someone said in another post, it's no wonder people leave this forum when you ask an honest question and get answers like this?
But thanks for your brilliant logic.

Actually, though succinct, it was probably the best answer to your question.

The amenity/water/trash bill .... The only item that could/will vary greatly from month to month is your water usage. The amenity and trash fee are pretty much fixed with perhaps one small increase each year.

Take a closer look at your water usage...potable and non-potable (irrigation) and see which has increased. That will be your first clue where to investigate. If potable, you may have a leaking faucet or toilet. If non potable, either irrigation is running more often or you have a leak.

However, as I said in my other posts, my tenants checked for leaks and turned the sprinkler system down so it wouldn't run as often, but the costs are still going up by $20 a month. The best answer so far is maybe a problem with the sprinkler heads. So who can I get to check this out for me, any recommendations?

You have to check to usage recorded on your water bill to establish a baseline and then investigate.

There may be some leaks that your tenants are unable to check and need the expertise of a professional to spot. I would start by calling the folks who installed your sprinkler system. You might try Jim Baumgarter (352-504-2317). I hear he does good work.

I have a pretty accurate baseline after living here for 3 years, and my bill has actually gone down for the last 3 or 4 months. Either you have inaccurate programming in your sprinkler control panel, or there is an underground leak ( could be on either system) either way you need to have somebody check both systems and both meters.

Call the water company and explain what ever you know athe time. They will send a technician who will check if there are leaks by watching the water meter.
Takes him only a very few minutes. All water in the house must not be in use while he checks.

There are two components to the water charge...potable and irrigation. You can reach some preliminary conclusions by looking at past months water useage.

As has been stated the only variable on the bill is water useage. And it does not take much of a leak to use thousands of gallons. Or your sprinkler timer has multiple run programs that need to be verified or not.

We just purchased in The Village and my question may not pertain. Do they read the meter monthly? In PA, we frequently get estimated readings for water and then it balances out (may be higher or lower) the next month.

Thank you for your post. We've only had 3 months of bills and now know if there is an inconsistency there could be more reasons than water use.

I would guess that the problem is a leak in the water line. You can actually check it yourself. Turn off all the water inside the house, pull the cover off your water meter, and see if there is any movement on the dials. If there is, you have a leak.

You can also call The Villages Water and they will send a tech to do the same thing - for free.

Meter reading is done monthly with electronic reading devices. The readers touch a device to the round disc on the cover of your meter boxes and the reading is recorded. Watch your bills, because errors, both human and electronic, have occurred.

The brilliant logic is just that. As has been stated the only variable is usage.
What has been the usage each month? I would not do anything until I knew the usage.
Unless they know what they are doing I would not rely on renters adjusting the irrigation system.

Thank you. I do have a Management Company so I think I will have them call the water company and investigate and if that fails I will call Jim as I know he has been highly recommended on this forum.