[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by cfranson

Hello,
This is my first post, and I hope I'm doing it correctly.

I have been watching my water bill from Minnesota, and the last several months the usage has really jumped compared to last year. We've had our home watch guy check the lawn, and there are no soggy areas. The irrigation has been turned off for the last month due to all the rains. A call to the CDD said this is normal. Does it look normal to you? If not, what is our next step?

Thanks for any ideas, or thoughts you have on our bill.

Cheryl & Richard

So if you’re not there why is your water usage 900 gallons in August when in June and July it’s zero ? You should have your watch guy open the meter boxes and make sure there’s no water in them. That could be a sign there’s a leak right after the meter.

[LeRoySmith]

Originally Posted by coconutmama

Village Tinker always gives the best advice.

Truth

[retiredguy123]

OP, one thing you can do is to look at your neighbors' water bills. They are public information and available to view on "districtgov.org".

[AmYisraelChai]

A slab leak is also a possibility.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

OP, one thing you can do is to look at your neighbors' water bills. They are public information and available to view on "districtgov.org".

Not anymore. Recent change. I couldn't even see my own for a few days.

(If I'm wrong and there is still a working link, please post it)

[MrFlorida]

Last month was very dry , this month lots of rain. Hard to tell from afar, you need a sprinkler person to check things out.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Not anymore. Recent change. I couldn't even see my own for a few days.

(If I'm wrong and there is still a working link, please post it)

You are correct. They have recently added a PIN, which is needed to access water bills.

[bagboy]

Call Joe Tucker, an irrigation technician who is very good. He'll find the problem.
352-430-5615

[Villagesgal]

Did you turn off water to your toilets? If not, it could be you need to replace the toilet stopper because it's leaking. Just a thought. That could easily cause your water bill to go up. Have your housewatch guy turn off the water supply to all toilets.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Villagesgal

Did you turn off water to your toilets? If not, it could be you need to replace the toilet stopper because it's leaking. Just a thought. That could easily cause your water bill to go up. Have your housewatch guy turn off the water supply to all toilets.

The toilets have nothing to do with irrigation water usage. Irrigation water and potable water (toilets) are two separate water systems.

[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The toilets have nothing to do with irrigation water usage. Irrigation water and potable water (toilets) are two separate water systems.

No they don’t but he had a total water usage of 900 gallons. That would mean he’s losing thirty gallons of water per day from toilets, which is unlikely but could happen. He has got leaks somewhere after the meters. Odd that he has high usage on potable water and high usage on irrigation which he claims was off for most of the month he’s questioning.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Jazzman

No they don’t but he had a total water usage of 900 gallons. That would mean he’s losing thirty gallons of water per day from toilets, which is unlikely but could happen. He has got leaks somewhere after the meters. Odd that he has high usage on potable water and high usage on irrigation which he claims was off for most of the month he’s questioning.

I don't think his potable water usage is high. He used no potable water in June and July. I doubt that he has a problem with his toilets, but that is something that the home watch company should check. Personally, I would turn off the water supply valve to the entire house and would not allow the home watch company to ever turn it on.

[BoneLakeBennie]

Originally Posted by cfranson

Hello,
This is my first post, and I hope I'm doing it correctly.

I have been watching my water bill from Minnesota, and the last several months the usage has really jumped compared to last year. We've had our home watch guy check the lawn, and there are no soggy areas. The irrigation has been turned off for the last month due to all the rains. A call to the CDD said this is normal. Does it look normal to you? If not, what is our next step?

Thanks for any ideas, or thoughts you have on our bill.

Cheryl & Richard

OP, (greetings fellow Minnesotan!)
It may be helpful if you could provide more details regarding your house/lot and irrigation set-up i.e. is this a courtyard villa, designer, veranda ... and how many irrigation zones are there and the time set for each zone and how many days a week the system is set to run.

The current and previous reading values would seem to indicate that his probably isn't a new home, so you may also want to provide details on which controller you have.

If you are remote during the summer, as we are, you may want to remotely monitor your irrigation controller. Our house has a Hunter controller which allows for remote control/monitoring via their "Wand" and app. If that is not available to you, you could install a Rachio controller (we have one in MN and works well).

By remotely monitoring your controller, you can tell if the rain sensor is preventing the system from running on wet weeks.

Your irrigation values may be "normal" for your yard. I looked at our usage and it looks similar (designer home, 4 zones that run twice a week)

[wshepherd]

There are 2 backup batterIES behind the controller face. A 9V and a watch battery. If either is bad, the settings will be randomized.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by wshepherd

There are 2 backup batterIES behind the controller face. A 9V and a watch battery. If either is bad, the settings will be randomized.

If you are referring to a Hunter controller, the batteries have nothing to do with the current settings. They are not backup batteries. When you lose power, the settings are not affected. The batteries are only there to allow the installing contractor to do a system setup if the house does not have power when they want to do an initial system set up.