Water bill is very high and no visible leaks

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Water bill is very high and no visible leaks

Heather De lap
Member since 2011 · 1 post · 27 votes

So very long story shortened my water bill is extremely high this month. We average $35.00 a month and this month it was $151.20. The jerk landlord told us in a very nasty little note to check out water leaks which we did and don't have. He claims we went through 19,500 gallons of water in April which means we used 650 gallons a day for 30 days. Not possible. We checked for leaks in the house and under it. We found nothing. We have an issue with a leaky toilet but it's been that way for 2 years and the bill is never higher than $35.00. Any ideas if this is an underground leak that has nothing to do with me or is my landlord price gouging me?

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Aly W.
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y

A running toilet can certainly jack up the bill! I had a tenant who's toilet ran for the 5 months he was there and he never said a word. I was stuck with a $1200 water bill after he was evicted.

Definitely turn off everything and check the meter, some have a sort of clockface and the little "hand" will be moving if there is any water running. Call the water company as well, they will come out to check if there is a leak or a problem in the line from the house to the water main.

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  • Deanna McCormick
    Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    I'd call your city's water department and have them come out and replace the meter.

    Also, I had a major water leak only detected by the fact Yes the meter was ticking,,, but we had to hire a water detector guy to come out and scope the pipes, we found a leak in a pipe not visible. slow leak, but over time was $$$,, cost me almost 5 grand for excavation repair, was a leak under slab.  The plumber came out and used a Flir camera that takes a heat sensor type reading and can find leaks in walls, and under floors and it showed we had a place of concern, the water detector guy cost about 325.00 and saved up needlessly ripping up sheet rock and pin pointed the leak within about 6 feet so we knew where to dig.

    Also the toilets can look like no leak,, really best way to tell is with the dye tablet you put in tank and come back in 10 min and see if there is any change.

    Other than that maybe a some body's running a car wash in the yard on weekends..

    1Reply
  • Gerald Critchfield
    Magnolia, TX · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
    9y
    The toilet could very well be the problem and it could be as simple as changing the flapper or the fill valve. (could easily do it yourself) The water company does not check the meter every month, they can make estimates off of the last time they read the meter about 4 times a year so then when they do go back to read the meter and you have had a leak you are charged for all that water that was being used due to the leak.
    0Reply
  • Santhi Mani
    Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    I wish we can get a daily water usage email from the water company.  Or an alert if any of the daily use gone up n number of gallons rather than giving us a surprise at the end of the month..

    0Reply
  • Scott Morongell
    Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2017 · 791 posts · 479 votes
    8y

    @Heather De lap grab yourself some low flush toilets and shower heads.

    0Reply
  • Darius Ellis
    Tucson, AZ · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    I just had the same issue.  I replaced the toilet flapper as it was causing the toilet to run.

    0Reply
  • Calvin OzanickBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Janesville, WI · Member since 2017 · 707 posts · 297 votes
    7y

    I would begin by checking any toilets in the home. It may seem like nothing, but if a toilet is constantly filling, you could be paying simply for a toilet to fill up after a flush. This happened at one of my units in the past and it was a mess. It was a simple $5 part to stop the toilet from running and it cost us over $350 on a water bill. 

    Also, if you cannot find the leak, just contact a plumber. It may cost more to do, but they will absolutely be able to find the issue and verify what is causing the issue. I would also speak with the landlord and notify him as politely as possible that there is no visible leak and you may need some assistance with the issue.

    Last note here: 

    In Wisconsin, if you are able to find a leak, you can notify the utility company and they will verify that the leak is present, then they may credit some of that bill back. This could come as a nice bonus to you to be reimbursed for some of the water you did not intend to use. 

    Best of luck!

    Wisconsin Property Managers4.7413 Reviews
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  • Greg M.
    Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Aaron Mazzrillo:

    19,000 gallons of water is way to high for a water leak that developed overnight. You'd notice the water going somewhere since that is about the same amount of water in the average backyard swimming pool. Food for thought!

    You'd think they would notice that amount of water, but from experience I can say that is not always the case. I had a 210,000 gallon leak that showed no signs until my $3K water bill arrived. Three people walked every inch of the property and couldn't see anything. Even after turning off the line to the house we went in the crawlspace to double check for a leak and nothing. A leak detection plumber could not find the leak. In the yard we ended up digging every 25 feet along the mainline and cut/capped it to see if it stopped the meter from moving. The leak was finally found about 3 feet underground along a long ago abandoned and capped portion of the main line.

    2Reply
  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    We have called the city to have them inspect when this happens.  

    0Reply
  • Elle Green
    Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    I have the same issue as Heather. I'm in a townhome in That's connecred to 3 additional units (apartment below and townhome to right and apartment below). Each month the water bill has increased with this month ahowing more than 10, 000 gallons of water used. 

    This is impossible seeing as its me and I'm away working 12 to 14 hours, 5bdays a week. The two days I'm off, I'm usually gone 4 to 6 hours on pne of those days for appointments.

    The water meter was replaced a week ago. Two days after the meter was replaced I just so happened to check it and thr black and red dials were moving without any water on in my home. 

    I vidoed this and sent it to the leasing office. They tested for a commode leak with green food coloring. The colored water stayed until the commode was flushed.

    It's after 1AM, I checked the meter and the dials periodically moved. The maintenance here has no clue. The bill last month was $186 and some cents.

    This is expensive and frustrating. Is it possibly the AC unit? I'm just looking for help.

    0Reply
  • Bella Walsh
    Member since 2019 · 27 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    You'll need to check your water meter

    0Reply
  • Ryan Lee
    Investor · Bowie, MD · Member since 2016 · 143 posts · 51 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Heather De lap:

    So very long story shortened my water bill is extremely high this month. We average $35.00 a month and this month it was $151.20. The jerk landlord told us in a very nasty little note to check out water leaks which we did and don't have. He claims we went through 19,500 gallons of water in April which means we used 650 gallons a day for 30 days. Not possible. We checked for leaks in the house and under it. We found nothing. We have an issue with a leaky toilet but it's been that way for 2 years and the bill is never higher than $35.00. Any ideas if this is an underground leak that has nothing to do with me or is my landlord price gouging me?

    I know this is an old post, but you can use kool aide packets, difference color for each bathroom. Then you can trace where the leak is going. if not kool aide use milo packs.

     Oh and you city should be able to do a meter test, they will schedule a time when they will monitor the meter for an 1hr. they will shutoff the main value and see if water is still flowing. or they can take the meter out and test it to see if its faulty. 

    0Reply
  • Joseph Firmin
    Rental Property Investor · Smyrna, GA · Member since 2018 · 974 posts · 645 votes
    7y

    2nd, 3rd and 4th the toilet - AKA - the silent killer. Has happened to me, normal bill for $100/month - $500 the next month... could have bought all new toilets for the whole house.

    0Reply
  • Kris L.
    San Antonio, TX · Member since 2019 · 930 posts · 836 votes
    6y

    Also check the sprinkler system if you have one.  My sprinkler system somehow got reset from running 30 mins every other day to running 5 hours every day but Thursday.  Since it was running from midnight to 5am, I didn't notice until I got a triple size bill from that.

    0Reply
  • Jermell Shavers
    Member since 2019 · 295 posts · 159 votes
    6y

    @Heather De lap I just dealt with this issue at one of my properties it was a faulty meter the water company told me either a pipe burst or your house went underwater at 400 gallons a day the bill was astronomical!!!

    0Reply
  • James G.
    Investor · St Louis, MO · Member since 2017 · 250 posts · 181 votes
    6y

    @Heather De lap if you contact your water company, sometimes they will allow you to dispute the case if you send them your electric or gas bills. They can compare your usage of your utilities and try to analyze and come to a conclusion. I am from St. Louis and that's what they do here when there is a dispute. Not sure about your market but it is worth looking into.

    0Reply
  • Jeffrey Jardine
    Investor · Hamilton, VA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 10 votes
    5y

    151 is higher then normal but ive seen 1000s if u have say a bad water main. 90 percent of the time that fluctuation is from a running toilet. It can be running slightly and barely be noticable.

    0Reply
  • Mark Smith
    Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 19 votes
    5y

    This is a toilet leak, you will never see a puddle in the basement, the water is just going down the drain.

    0Reply
  • Richard Borthwick
    Member since 2020 · 11 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    Happened to me once that my automated watering system for the garden, was staying on way longer than it was supposed to.  This resulted in a huge water bill by the time I figured it out.  Turns out this is quite common with the automatic on/off watering devices.  Something to monitor.

    0Reply
  • Mike L.
    Rental Property Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 28 votes
    5y

    @Heather De lap

    Do you have a water softener? This happened to me - water softener was stuck in regen mode and ran every night for a month.

    0Reply
  • Dan Schwartz
    Real Estate Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2012 · 874 posts · 648 votes
    5y

    Call the water department immediately.  We had this problem at a house used as an Airbnb.  We expected the consumption to be higher, but the bill suggested we were refilling the pool most months.  We did leak detections, sprinkler inspections, etc, and found nothing.  


    One day, the water department replaced the meter (regular maintenance/upgrade from the city to a smart meter, not anything we requested) and BOOM water consumption was back to a reasonable level immediately.  There was no relief for the months of huge bills, but at least it's settled now and I can also rest easier not thinking we are going through 40K gallons of water a month (!).  

    Call the water department.  And do everything else recommended on this thread, but don't forget to call the water department.

    0Reply
  • Griffin SchermerPro Member
    Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2019 · 76 posts · 55 votes
    5y

    I would contact the water company first. It sounds to me like it could potentially be from something underground. I'd be very surprised if your toilet is causing this bill to be that high. Regardless, I'd be asking the landlord to get the toilet fixed. It doesn't sound like any problem you may have caused to the property. 

    0Reply
  • Adam Christopher Zaleski
    Investor · Pueblo West, CO · Member since 2014 · 310 posts · 213 votes
    5y

    A running toilet can easily be 200 gallons/day. 

    1Reply
  • Bill P.
    Investor | Syndicator | Instructor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2008 · 435 posts · 198 votes
    5y

    @Heather De lap We had a similar problem 4 years ago where the water utility said we went through an extra 100,000 gallons in one month. Yes you read that right. Had to go an administrative hearing and prove to them that 100,000 gallons couldn't even have flowed through the pipe in a month. They agreed with my logic and reduced it to my average usage and installed a new meter.

    2Reply
  • Roman Morrongiello
    Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Honestly could be that toilet running but my best guess is a neighbor is stealing water or there's a broken pipe. 

    0Reply
  • Michael Noto
    Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    This is one of the most frustrating parts about being a landlord that is never talked about. 9 times out of 10 it is either:

    1. A leak

    2. A toilet running constantly 

    3. A faulty meter

    0Reply
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