Water bill nightmare.

[tvguy]

Live in a rural area so not sure how are water lines work. I know the city uses very hard well water and rates go up every year.

I grew up on well water, and it was hard. The best tasting water there is.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Wow! I did not see if you have a pool. But that would make the bill jump more. Is it just from normal use? Or have the price just increased? It sure makes it harder when things like that sky rocket. And it is not something you expect to stay about the same. All bills just seem to sky rocket with out warning.. I would make sure you don't have leaks , or looking at the meter wrong.

 

[usnuzuloose]

The bricks in the tank is an old water saving trick. We remodeled six years ago and you can only buy water saving toilets here in California now. They work pretty well, but (TMI) sometimes those need to be flushed 3 times to clear the bowl. In those cases you are actually using more water. Where we really us water here is on the lawn. Our summer water bill, when it is regularly over 100 degrees is when it goes up. And while my entire front and backyard are lawn, my lot is only .17 acre. My parents house was on half an acre, and all lawn. But there was no water district of bill for them, everyone had their own well so you just paid for the electricity to run the pump.

I amiss well water. I will be right over for a glass,,,,,

 

[tvguy]

I amiss well water. I will be right over for a glass,,,,,

Sorry, that was my parents house. I've been on "city" water for 36 years.

 

[MomToOne]

I live on a busy street, and have a hose hooked up in my front yard. The homeless sometimes decide to use it for something - clean themselves, get a drink, who knows. I just know when I come home that they've been at it again because they've left the water turned on and the hose leaks a bit, leaving a puddle.

I'd get a camera or two focused on your yard just to see if someone is coming in. It's a long shot, but it happens.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Sorry, that was my parents house. I've been on "city" water for 36 years.

Oh shoot, well I guess I don't need my glass....

 

[Cindy's Mom]

any update on this?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Our water leak was in the pipe leading from the street to the house. We had them come out and check the meter and it was fine.
So then I had a company come out and snake the line from the street to the house and you could see the water running from the line into the ground.
It was our responsibility to fix. So we paid the 250.00 to get the pipe fixed and paid the 500.00 water bill.

Here's hoping yours is an easier fix OP.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Once upon a time, our meter was only checked every 3 or so months. The other months were averaged. All of a sudden we got a $600 bill (neighbors too). So the person who check had not checked at 3 months...just kept averaging. So all the months that were over that average hit at once! The water company sucked up the loss and we did not pay the additional. We had so many that this happened to that they could not argue. Now we have one of those fancy electronic meters.

This year we were getting bills that were too high. I knew there was a leak but we could not find where. Our drive is 3/10 mile long so that is scary to find...but eventually the ground should be wet. My husband kept turning areas off around our house then driving up to the meter to see where and if it was moving. FINALLY after a month or so, we figured out it was our whole house water filter and softner. A gasket had aged to a point that water was running through constantly.

It is a PIA. I don't like paying utilities on a card or instant pay because I want to see the amount and the bill each and every time.

 

[Lewisc]

Sounds like some posters need to have installed, or start using, an indoor shut off valve for outdoor faucet

 

[kymom99]

Once upon a time, our meter was only checked every 3 or so months. The other months were averaged. All of a sudden we got a $600 bill (neighbors too). So the person who check had not checked at 3 months...just kept averaging. So all the months that were over that average hit at once! The water company sucked up the loss and we did not pay the additional. We had so many that this happened to that they could not argue. Now we have one of those fancy electronic meters.

This year we were getting bills that were too high. I knew there was a leak but we could not find where. Our drive is 3/10 mile long so that is scary to find...but eventually the ground should be wet. My husband kept turning areas off around our house then driving up to the meter to see where and if it was moving. FINALLY after a month or so, we figured out it was our whole house water filter and softner. A gasket had aged to a point that water was running through constantly.

It is a PIA. I don't like paying utilities on a card or instant pay because I want to see the amount and the bill each and every time.

I'm surprised they didn't make you pay the bills. Regardless of how the bills were calculated, you still used the amount of water. One year, I think it was the polar vortex, they kept estimating my electric bill because I assume they didn't send their meter readers out in that weather. Once they finally read it my next electric bill was sky high. I knew it would be more and tried to prepare, but wanted to cry when I saw it. (Our house is old and poorly insulated so 3 months in the winter the bills are very high but the rest of the year they are very reasonable.)

 

[tvguy]

It was our responsibility to fix. So we paid the 250.00 to get the pipe fixed and paid the 500.00 water bill.

Wow, only $250? I had to have a joint that came apart fixed on my main water line into the house. The actual repair took about a minute. It cost $300 to have them come out with a leak detector to find the source, and $1250 to dig down to the water line. Fortunately it was in the lawn, so no concrete or black top to tear up and replace.

 

[kymom99]

Wow, only $250? I had to have a joint that came apart fixed on my main water line into the house. The actual repair took about a minute. It cost $300 to have them come out with a leak detector to find the source, and $1250 to dig down to the water line. Fortunately it was in the lawn, so no concrete or black top to tear up and replace.

I was surprised to hear how little it cost them as well.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I was surprised to hear how little it cost them as well.

Me too - but I think it was because it was a short area and they were doing 3 houses one right after the other in our neighborhood at the same time.
By now pretty much every house in the neighborhood has had it happen and the pipe fixed.

Next up is the whole house polybutylene pipe replacement for us. We will start taking quotes at the end of September is the current plan provided nothing else urgent goes wrong. That's gonna be pricey but we've had 3 leaks over the past year so it's time to deal with it.

 

[happ]

When I owned a rental property, I started getting outrageous water bills. I was billed quarterly and the bills were over 1k! It turned out there was a toilet that kept running, a kiddie pool outside, and tenants were washing their cars. I had the toilet fixed, shut off the outside spigots, and put a lock on the basement door. The bills went back to normal.

 

[amcnj]

Next up is the whole house polybutylene pipe replacement for us. We will start taking quotes at the end of September is the current plan provided nothing else urgent goes wrong. That's gonna be pricey but we've had 3 leaks over the past year so it's time to deal with it.

I think that is what we had in a previous home and there was some kind of lawsuit and settlement. The end result was the piping was replaced in many homes in the development for free. I know mine was, though I can’t remember if it was all piping or just the inflows due to their having to handle the water pressure. You had to file a claim, but anyone who had a leak of any kind had it replaced for free. I wish I had a better memory of it all, but it might be worth checking online about.

 

[starry_solo]

@Birdie dog : did I miss an update as to what happened in your situation?

 

[Dumbo777]

I am curious also...did you find out what was going on?

 

[SUSIEQ]

OP, can you give us an update?? It might help someone else out.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

We got an outrageous water bill one time - like $300, not too bad but our normal bill is around $60. I called the office and was told that I hadn't paid the bill for 6 months. I said that No, I'd paid the bill online every month and had the statements to prove it.

The lady at the water company office then told me that the billing system at the water company was screwed up and no one had received a paper bill in 6 months (?!?!?!?!?!?!!). They just assumed since no one received a bill, no one had paid. They had sent the entire district a bill for 6 months of service without even checking to see who actually had not paid.

I hope OP's worked out to something equally silly.