Irrigation Water Bill
 

OK, Hoping one of you can help me figure this out or where to go for help.
I got my Utilities bill and it jumped to over $400 this month. $200 is for the Irrigation base which is usually only about $20. I called the utilities customer service and they told me it is a true reading. I had Massey come out and inspect my system and there are no leaks and all my sprinklers are working fine. The system is set on 2 days a week, 25 minutes each zone (4 zones) and only set on Program A, Program B is off. Massey could not figure out what the problem is. Any suggestions? I called Jim Baumgartner who is coming out on Wednesday, but if Massey couldn't find anything and they checked really carefully, I doubt Jim will have any better luck.

How many gallons did your bill indicate was used? A zone will have up to 6 rotator heads with about 3 gallons per minute nozzles, 75 gallons per rotator per 25 minutes cycle, 150 gallons per week per rotator, 600 gallons per month times 24 rotators equals 14,400 gallons of water.

I am just guessing here. Your $200 for water would equate to about 50,000 gallons of water. That is a lot of water. Go outside and check your irrigation water meter to see if it is moving. Assuming you don't have a leak, you could have a bad meter. Mine was taken out by lightning last year. Call the utilities and ask them to come out and check your meter.

Sounds like you have covered all of the bases. You mentioned program A and B, I also have a program C. One other thing, when the magnetic pick ups (so the meter readers don't have to open the cover to read the meter) were installed at my place they had to manually enter the last reading which they did incorrectly. You might want to see if this coincides with the large bill.
Please let us know how this turns out.

Just guesses.
Turn off sprinkler system. Then turn on when you want to water. I would check the meter for gallons used for each zone.
With the sprinkler system off check your meter each hour and see how much water you are using. You can relate this to usage.
The meter might be able to measure in 1/10 gallon increments. If it can you should be able to tell if you have a leak in a few minutes. If you do have a leak turn off the hot water feed to the house and that will tell you if the problem is on the hot or cold (toilets) side of the plumbing.
I would guess the problem has to be in the meter. I would start a log of meter reading. Each hour log your usage. Add some comments on use - did dishes, took shower etc.
Some meters require light to activate the meter dial. Shine a flashlight on the dial even during the day.

You should also be able to turn off the water to the house and leave the sprinkler on. If the meter is moving you have a leak in the sprinkler.

Please let us know what you learn.

I am guessing he is in a new section with separate meters for the house and irrigation.

I am in the new section with separate irrigation and house water. Only the irrigation bill is high. I'll have them come out and check the meter and then see if Jim B can figure it out. I don't know how to read/check the meter. Massey checked the Program and there was only A and B

Same Problem
 

We had a problem this month with the water charge. It was higher than normal for the month and when I inquired they said they would send someone out to check and the only change was they did install a new meter this month. They
did send someone out who said it was OK and so we had the irrigation watering schedule checked today and will see if there is still a problem. It is questionable they installed a new meter and we had an out of normal charge. :shrug:

Our place is in one of the newer sections and our irrigation water bill was higher than normal this month also. Massey was just out last month to do their regular check on our irrigation system and said there were no problems. I was planning to wait another month to see what happens with the next bill until I saw this thread. Now not sure what to do. We are currently not down there.

You can talk to the customer service people at the water company and with a little information like size of house, how many people, bath rooms, etc......and how many zones for irrigation, how many times per week they can give you a rough idea what water useage can be.

It all varies depending on residential set up.

Look for leaks. You will be surprised how a small leak can have major impact on useage....house or irrigation.

I have found the water company to be most helpful in verifying the meter and supply are sound and functioning properly. They will also advise how to determine if there is a leak...not where but if there is. The tecjh who comes to check the meter is most knowledgeable and helpful.

Your meter is outside, on the front lawn somewhere, in the black box. Lift it up after turning your irrigation to off and see if the meter is turning.

Your irrigation meter is in a purple box on the opposite side of your lot from the domestic water meter. There should be 2 meters in the box. 1 for your system, and 1 for your next door neighbor.

Jim B. will figure it out, I have had Massey, the utility department all out a year ago and they scratched there heads and couldn't find anything. Jim came out and replaced some heads that were leaking, checked everything, made adjustments and bill went back down. You did the right thing in calling him.

Excessive water bill
 

Something to consider. Remember those of us who live south of 466A have very different irrigation controls. These new systems water outside of your programmed periods as detected by this new system. I too had an irrigation/excessive water use issue shortly after moving to this new area . KB services came out to check the system and couldn't find an issues so I ended up calling the company in California who make the irrigation system. I was told that these systems were not designed for tropical areas such as Florida, but rather for places like Arizona. I was told how to disconnect wiring within the box to prevent the auto watering system from engaging. Once this was done, I was able to set my programming for specific days and times without any additional watering being automatically done. So this may be something you might want to check out.

Has Jim been rhere yet? Interested in what he found.