Crazy water bill (Austin, Atlanta: houses, living in, plumbing)

[atlanta hope]

My first water bill was $500! Of course $200 was a deposit, but still, a $300 water bill is crazy. I called the city to say it was crazy but I haven't heard back from them except to get a late notice and the new water bill was almost $200.

I have extensive drip irrigation all over my .75 acre lot and I turned it all off after the first bill. Apparently that was part of the problem. I imagine that I must have more leaks to incur the $200 water bill.

Does the city help you find leaks or do I need to hire a plumber to come out and look? Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a plumber that would deal with drip irrigation? It looks like a huge mess... god only knows where it would be leaking.

[achtungpv]

Turn off everything and see if the meter's turning. That'll tell you if there's a leak.

Actually, a normal water bill will run $50-80 easily here with no watering whatsoever so I could see it easily approaching $200 with significant amounts of landscape care. With 2 adults and a toddler ours is 60-65 consistently with absolutely no watering. If I water my .6 acre lot once per week for 30 minutes, it'll hit $90-110.

[atlanta hope]

Someone had suggested that earlier and I can't find our water meter. Is there a standard place it should be? In Atlanta it was on the side of the house by the electric meter. (I feel really dumb asking that -- but the last owner did all kinds of crazy wiring and plumbing and you should see what's in my yard!)

[achtungpv]

Maybe in the ground with the on/off valve? I think that's where mine is at...never actually looked at it before.

[Trainwreck20]

Most water meters are located near the sidewalk along the front of the house, or some similar location. For newer homes, there is usually a shared main connection for two adjacent houses and then it splits into separate cut-off valves/meters. The main connection is usually a decent sized manhole and the individual meters are much smaller caps (maybe 6 inches or so?). In older houses you might often have an individual manhole cover.

If you have to open the big manhole cover, you need a water 'key' or something that will work to release the locking mechanism on the cover. Various heavy pieces of metal will work, especially if they are 'L' shaped. I used to use a tent stake. If you have separated, small water meters, they are easily opened by hand.

Of course, there are a zillion different variations, I am sure. It could be you just have to look for the flooded, boggy location in your yard .

[TexasHorseLady]

The city will tell you whether the leak is on their side or yours of the meter - or if the problem is with the meter itself. If it's on your side, it's your baby and you may need a plumber. If it's on their side, they'll take care of it.

But, yes, turn everything off and then see if the meter is still running. If it is, further investigation is definitely needed - it may be that you can figure it out yourself (are you on a slab or pier and beam foundation?), it may be that you'll need a plumber.

[EmBee]

Interesting thread. I also have similar predicament although not to your extent. We switched the service to our name 4 weeks ago. We haven't lived in the house nor turn on the sprinkler. We're charged with 4,000 gallons of water and wastewater. Keep us up to date on your findings.

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Most water meters are located near the sidewalk along the front of the house, or some similar location. For newer homes, there is usually a shared main connection for two adjacent houses and then it splits into separate cut-off valves/meters. The main connection is usually a decent sized manhole and the individual meters are much smaller caps (maybe 6 inches or so?). In older houses you might often have an individual manhole cover.

If you have to open the big manhole cover, you need a water 'key' or something that will work to release the locking mechanism on the cover. Various heavy pieces of metal will work, especially if they are 'L' shaped. I used to use a tent stake. If you have separated, small water meters, they are easily opened by hand.

Of course, there are a zillion different variations, I am sure. It could be you just have to look for the flooded, boggy location in your yard .

Okay, I don't feel like an idiot any more. We don't have sidewalks so I'll look for the manhole type cover. No boggy areas in sight unfortunately (or fortunately).

Just so you know if you want to pay your water bill online, you can only pay up to $600 in one transaction.

Thanks for the info everyone and will update you as I find out what the heck is going on.

[PeacePlease]

when we lived in Austin we had a similar a problem. Although it was after living in the house for a number of years. One bill was $300 or so, and the next over $400.. We found our water meter, shut off all faucets and the thing kept spinning. We called a plumber and he quickly found out that there is a leak somewhere between the house and the meter. He shutoff the water main, and then dug out a trench to get to the pipe. Changed the pipe and problem went away. The problem was caused from the root of a shrub that grew into the pipe. Total damage was about $2k not including the two hefty water bills. ouch... at least the house was not damaged.

[Jennibc]

It seems like I remember being able to look at a property's bills from the year prior before we purchased down there. Is it possible to get those records to see what has gone on in the past in terms of cost? That might help a little in terms of isolating the problem.