[Becky]

My water bill for December was $137.16. That is water part after taking off the amenities and trash. I was there for 1 1/2 weeks alone. Water bill shows I used 16150 gallons of water. I though that was high and asked house watcher to check it out. They said my sprinkler times were messed up and adjusted them. Ok. Feb bill came and it was $120.87 and no one was there at all! Called the water department and they sent someone out right away to shut off the water. Said it was house water not sprinklers. They left water on instead as no abnormal amount showed. They read the meter on March 19th. Between Mar 1st and Mar 15th it showed 1 gallon of water used. There was no water in the house. No leaks. Nothing. Water department has done 4 different checks and everything comes back to someone using my water somehow! No one has been there until this week when my son was there. Water depart checked and it shows no huge amounts this month.

I plan on calling the house watcher to make sure water has been turned off inside the house all the time. I know I shut it off when I left.

On the other hand, the water department has been very good at keeping in contact with me!

Anyone have any ideas or has this happened to anyone else? I find it hard to believe someone is stealing water from me! Any ideas? Thanks!

Becky

[JohnN]

I had this at my "northern" home and my daughter had flushed a toilet and it got hung up. Hard to argue with the meter man.

[F16 1UB]

You said you had the water dept shut off the water. Prior to shutting it off did they check for leaks? Friends in Sable Chase had a high bill, kept feeling warmer than normal floor in the master bathroom, discovered there was a leak in the slab under the tile. Yeah - had to jack hammer the bathroom. Fixed it - can't even tell. Builder took care of it. Allegedly it appeared as though someone had ran over the water line during construction. I notice your usage dropped during March. Go figure. ?????? Here's hoping the rest of the bills will be low.

[Becky]

House water has been shut off in the garage since Jan 3rd. No water going into the house.

Water dept did not shut off the water as when they checked it, it showed only 1 gal used from Mar.1-19th. That was the house watcher flushing during a routine check. So water company figured it was on their end somehow. Now they say not on their end - must be mine. Thanks!

Becky

[spk7951]

Might want to see if they will change out the meter to be sure that is not the problem.

[Becky]

Thanks SpK! Great idea! Will be down for spring break and at their office at 9am on the 6th. Meanwhile told them I am not paying bill until I am down there. They were fine with that. House watcher is going to check everything out tomorrow. He is a man who worked for the water department for 38 years before retiring so hoping he will have ideas! Thanks so much!

Becky

[katezbox]

Hi Becky,

I am a former water utility girl. First of all - the meters are generally quite reliable. That being said here are a couple of possible answers:

1. Water utilities have to change out meters every so often. Is it possible that the meter was changed during the period you first had the problem? Occasionally meters get swapped and the new meter read is not recorded.

2. Is it possible that they recorded an estimate? Usually this will mean that the next period is also "off" - but in reverse which doesn't seem to have happened to you.

3. Since your last bill was low, it seems unlikely that you have one of those nasty hidden leaks - but I would keep an eye on things.

4. It could be that you did have a water thief. You may want to put some sort of tape over any outside faucets to see if they have been tampered with.

k

[Becky]

Thanks katezbox! I was told that water meter reader reads it every time. Doesn't happen here in Ohio, but will check. Will ask about having the meter changed out. Just can't imagine what has happened. Thank goodness I am going down and will see what happens. Thanks for your input!

Becky