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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  • Mike HurneyPro Member
    Real Estate Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 542 votes
    5y

    @Heather De lap

    I had a Tenant like you... So I asked the water department to check it weekly for several weeks - it was high. They gave me dye for the toilet tanks - weren't running. Had them take a picture of the meter before going to bed and first thing in the morning - same time stamped reading. Installed/Replaced all the faucet aerators - still high. Reinstalled new low flow shower heads. No affect... Changed the lease so that anything over $200/quarter (average for my single families) they had to pay for - Hasn't gone over $200/Q in 18 months;-)

    2Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    5y

    There's some odd misinformation in here so I'm going to add a post just to clarify some things:

    1. Meters don't run fast unless the wrong register is on the meter body or you have a cycling issue where there's no check valve and water is being siphoned off the service line and air and/or water is pushed back in, such that there is apparent water use when nothing is being used. The tenant can usually verify that by letting you know there's constant air in the lines when they go to use the water. The reason meters don't run fast is that they turn through a magnet in the meter cup that registers your odometer every time that cup/nutating disc makes a rotation. The meters are tested at the factory (your meter is likely Neptune, Badger, Sensus or MasterMeter) for accuracy, which has to be at or below 100%. You can look at your meter connection to see if there's a check valve in place (you will see a meter setter or a yoke bar in the meter box; one side will have the cut-off, the other side a brass valve apparatus). Or you can ask your utility if there is a check valve in place. This is an extremely rare situation - I have seen it twice in two decades in the industry.

    2. 100k gallons through a water line in a month is nothing. I see leaks all the time on customer service lines that run several hundred thousand gallons of water through a line in a month without any visible water in the yard. My own house once leaked a million gallons (that's right 1 million with an M) in a month without the water ever coming to the surface. A fully broken 1" water line can run a couple of hundred gallons per minute depending on system pressure and material. 100k gallons in a month is 2.3 gallons/minute, or about what you'd see coming out of your bathroom sink faucet with an aerator in place.

    3. Virtually 100% of the time unexplained large water bills at your rental property are going to be explained by one of the following:

    A) A broken service line (the line that runs from the meter to your house) or other supply line in a hidden area where no one notices water leaking;

    B) A toilet that's constantly running through a sticking handle/float/ball or a faulty seal on the flapper/ball. These can be slow seepers, or ones where it's completely hung up and doesn't get unhung until the next person uses the bathroom.

    C) Your tenant uses the water. Most people are woefully ignorant of how much water they actually use.  

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    3Reply
  • Mark Cruse
    Investor · Fort Washington, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    My double unit in Baltimore is using 148 percent of the energy in comparison to every last person in the immediate area. Its like I'm powering another building and I believe the tenants are playing games because all the utilities are included. I will find out what is going on one way or another. 

    0Reply
  • David Avery
    Flipper/Rehabber · Phoenix Arizona · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 686 votes
    5y

    Water company mis read the meter!

    Fix the stupid toilet,  Its a five-ten minuet fix, U Tube it.

    Flapper or the chain keeps getting caught under the seal.   DAH !!!

    It was not your landlord, its both the toilet and a mis read meter reader!!!

    0Reply
  • Patricia Steiner
    Real Estate Broker · Hyde Park Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    This is more common than you think; try this:  call the water company and ask them what your usage is for the month.  If it is nominal/normal, ask if your meter was actually read last month or if your usage was "estimated."  Sometimes, the meter isn't read (or I was told it was a "new guy") and you're basically prepaying based on an estimate.  Checking the meter is a good start but then try this.  And, tell your landlord to come fix that running toilet.  Hope this helps.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    Thats a lot of water.  I think you may have a leak in the pipe, maybe underground leak. 

    0Reply
  • Brad Cherry
    Rental Property Investor · Matthews NC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 5 votes
    5y

    I would turn the meter of and see if it is still running, could show signs of a leak. You can also walk the yard between the meter and the house feel for any really soft spots in the yard. This would definitely be a sign of a leak underground. You can also call the water company to come out and look at the meter. Sometimes their meters malfunction or they can tell you if there is a leak somewhere. 

    0Reply
  • Joe W Hanley
    Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    I just replaced the main water supply line on a rental this week. this leak was impossible to miss but I have had them in the past where they are undetectable unless you listen to the actually pipe with a stethoscope or whatever similar tool the plumber uses. If you you hear something you have a leak under ground somewhere. also like other's have said if meter moves with everything shut off then it is flowing somewhere and thats a leak.

    0Reply
  • Kenzie Weitzeil
    Member since 2021 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    Shut everything off and check the meter. I back up everyone's comments. If its moving then there is a leak. Dripping faucets, water lines to the refrigerator. Not sure where you are at. Does the HVAC system run through an attic. A multitude if things can be going on here.

    If it's not moving I would ask the water company for date of meter read and take it from there. 

    0Reply
  • Ryan B.
    Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2015 · 126 posts · 141 votes
    5y

    You already stated that the toilet was a problem.  A leaky toilet can get worse.  When you don't see a leak, 90% of the time its a leaky flapper in the toilet.  Sure, it could be something underground, but that's the complex and expensive possibility when toilet is most likely and costs $7 to fix.

    1Reply
  • Stephen Zygiel
    Real Estate Agent · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2018 · 8 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    The utility company replaced a meter on one of my rentals one time. Tenant didn't have a pool, so the huge spike raised an eyebrow. The utility company forgot to reset the meter after they had refurbished it. They entered it in at 00000 gallons while the meter itself still read a little over 1,000. When the automated reader pushed the numbers, the bill was ridiculous. A quick call the the utility company sorted it out very fast. Maybe check that out?

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Contractor · Mickleton, NJ · Member since 2020 · 114 posts · 112 votes
    5y
    this is incredible!


    Originally posted by @David Simmons:

    First off, I am 5th generation plumbing contractor. At my parents house we experienced my water bills. At which time we started looking for leaks we then investigated this situation. After looking at this problem for approximately 2 months we determined that the water meter was registering the water coming in to the property and as water pressure is fluctuated downstream from the meter. We determine that the water was slipping back through the meter unregistered and then as the pressure in the network or City Water lines re pressurized the the building it reregistered the water coming in even when nothing was being consumed. City water department so there's no way that that could happen but once a spring check valve was installed on the line that stop the high water consumption being registered on the meter even though nothing was leaking. I hope this helps everyone to solve a problem with their system. In the past I have seen a high water bill one month and then the very next month with the same equipment back to a normal rating/ reading.

    2Reply
  • Loren Clive
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Paia, HI · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 311 votes
    5y

    typically the water company can tell you if there is a leak based upon usage patterns. Have you contacted them?

    I had this happen with a hot water leak beneath the house that jacked both water and electric bills, ultimately had to replumb entire house

    2Reply
  • Logan Sanford
    Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2019 · 45 posts · 21 votes
    5y

    I am in Indianapolis and I had the same thing when I first bought my home. I still hadn't even moved in yet and had my water/sewer bill at over 19.9CCF, which is way too high, especially for no one living there. It was the toilet that was constantly running. I replaced the fill valve and another small part and it was fixed. You often can get a credit with the water company if you can prove it is a leaky toilet as well. Hope this helps!

    0Reply
  • Paul DuPlessis
    70461 · Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
    5y

    Check to make sure your toilets are not running. You can always call in a complaint to your utility provider and they will send someone out to inspect the line/meter. 

    0Reply
  • David Avery
    Flipper/Rehabber · Phoenix Arizona · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 686 votes
    5y

    What tenant has a water key?

    Or knows how to find the water meter.

    Then you have to have a wrench to open it.

    Some tenants don't know what a chain is on a toilet!

    how many people here have opened a meter box  ?

    It scaring in those.

    So before everyone here gives all this advise remember how upset the tenant

    is to the landlord!!

    Tenant isn't going to do anything!

    0Reply
  • Lillian Arroyo
    Investor · Member since 2018 · 12 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Maybe your water meter has to be replaced.... We rent my step father's house and one day he received a water bill for $1000. He thought we had a water leak somewhere in the house.  He freaked out and called the water company, it turned out that the water meter was broken and the water company had to replace it at no cost to us.  

    0Reply
  • Scott Ashworth
    Rental Property Investor · Cary, NC · Member since 2019 · 55 posts · 57 votes
    5y

    Call the water company (Town/City) - in my Town of Cary, NC they can see how much water was used by the day. If the water usage was evenly distributed, sounds like you have a leak. Call Town/City...see what they can tell you about the usage.

    0Reply
  • Denver M. Lane
    Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes
    5y

    We had the same problem a few years ago. We used 1450 gallons in a month!
    When you say you "checked for leaks", did you just do a manual check, or did you hire a professional leak finder?
    That's how we had to find our leak. They came out with a listening device and walked all around the property listening for the leak.
    They found it in our irrigation system leaking under the yard.
    Good luck!

    0Reply
  • Louie Gabriel
    Member since 2020 · 57 posts · 24 votes
    5y

    Find a time when you know that nobody in your house will use any water for an extended period (like before you leave for work in the morning or before you go to bed at night) and shut your water off at the meter. When you come home/wake up, turn it back on and listen. If you do have a leak, your pipes will have lost a little pressure and you’ll hear the water rush through the pipes for a couple seconds when you turn the water back on.

    This won’t tell you where your leak is, but it will tell you if you do or do not have one to begin with. Then you can decide if it’s even worth it to have a plumber come investigate or not.

    0Reply
  • Laura McCullough
    Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    5y
    Originally posted by @Silvia B.:
    Originally posted by Aly L:
    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.

    Follow this advice. It sounds as if you might have a leak in the pipeline from the meter to your house. This is very common and will continue to become worse over time until it is replaced.

    Same - I have seen a slow running toilet definitely create some high water bills before.

    0Reply
  • Renee Moomey
    Real Estate Agent · Bennett, IA · Member since 2018 · 62 posts · 40 votes
    5y

    Fix the toilet, it may have gotten worse. And agree with other comments, could be underground leak.

    1Reply
  • Bonnie LowPro Member
    Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    I have a friend who discovered a contractor was hooking his hoses up to her water faucets during the day while she was at work so his crews would have water at their jobsite. She had no idea until the water bill came and she called the water district to find out why her bill was so high. They said her usage had massively increased. She argued that nothing had changed substantially. It just so happened her husband came home midday one day and saw the hose running from their faucet. He asked her later if she'd told the contractor it was ok to use their water. Of course, she hadn't. They had an argument with the contractor who refused to reimburse them so it was never really resolved, but it was a surprise to say the least to find out their water was being stolen.

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    1Reply
  • Kar Sun
    Member since 2021 · 402 posts · 277 votes
    5y

    if there is an outdoor garden hose check the pipes as they might be leaking undeground.

    0Reply
  • Pierce WickensPro Member
    Clarksville, TN · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    You mention the leaking toilet like previous replies have said the leaking toilet if it is running could equal that amount of water. I had that happen to me the tenant got a water bill for around a grand. We called plumber only issue was the toilet was running because of a bad seal. I never thought that could happen until it did.

    0Reply
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