I've had properties for about 5 years now and have never had this happen to me before. We were charged $4,300 for ONE MONTH of water bills when historically the bill was about $100. There were no leaks, no damage or anything but the city changed the meter.
Is there any way to fight this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
3y
In MOST areas if you find the leak and fix it the water department will refund your bill. I know water bills escalate by usage but even if they quadrupled from $1.25/1,000 gallons. You’d be looking at over 3.5million gallons. 100,000 gallons per day. That sounds impossible. A garden hose is 6gpm. Under 400gph under 1,000gpd. That means 100 hoses running 24/7.
Now maybe you’re paying 10x normal prices because of usage but that’s still 50 hoses 24/7. Seems like a noticeable amount. Walk out to street and see if meter is spinning. If so, Turn off the water at the house see if meter is spinning. If so turn off water at the house side of meter and see if it’s running.
If no after step 1, leak is in house, if yes but no after step 2, leak is between house and meter, if yes on step 3 the meter is defective. I’m going to assume that there was a transcription error somewhere and a number was written down wrong. Check the meter reading for the last 2 bills. Then go look at the meter and check current reading. (Remember this is costing you $150/day if it’s a leak.)
Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
Is it possible that the "before" water reading was on the old meter and then they swapped it and the "after" reading was on the new meter? So the start point reference number and end point reference number for the water use for the month was on 2 different meters
I know a running toilet can consume some water but not that much..... and it didnt fix itself
The new meter cant be a coincidence for it to peak that high and just go back to the previous "normal" all by itself
Is it possible that the "before" water reading was on the old meter and then they swapped it and the "after" reading was on the new meter? So the start point reference number and end point reference number for the water use for the month was on 2 different meters
I know a running toilet can consume some water but not that much..... and it didnt fix itself
The new meter cant be a coincidence for it to peak that high and just go back to the previous "normal" all by itself
Real Estate Agent · Savannah, GA · Member since 2018 · 122 posts · 141 votes
3y
I am so sorry, WOW. I just want you to know as a property manager I frequently speak with employees of these city utilities. They take A LOT of abuse. My advice is to call them, go down there, play poor, and then do it all again until you get some help. If you are kind, and I am not too proud to beg, they will help you out. Just don't stop being nice. That goes a long way.
I truly hope that you find a solution. Please post if you get one, I'd love to hear what they come up with for you.
I am so sorry, WOW. I just want you to know as a property manager I frequently speak with employees of these city utilities. They take A LOT of abuse. My advice is to call them, go down there, play poor, and then do it all again until you get some help. If you are kind, and I am not too proud to beg, they will help you out. Just don't stop being nice. That goes a long way.
I truly hope that you find a solution. Please post if you get one, I'd love to hear what they come up with for you.
Hi Julia, We have a property manager too, kind of awkward timing as we were literally switching when we got this bill. This should definitely be something they should be leading the charge on right?
I've had properties for about 5 years now and have never had this happen to me before. We were charged $4,300 for ONE MONTH of water bills when historically the bill was about $100. There were no leaks, no damage or anything but the city changed the meter.
Is there any way to fight this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Since the city changed the meter, it's most likely a misread. Contact the city and discuss with them.
I am so sorry, WOW. I just want you to know as a property manager I frequently speak with employees of these city utilities. They take A LOT of abuse. My advice is to call them, go down there, play poor, and then do it all again until you get some help. If you are kind, and I am not too proud to beg, they will help you out. Just don't stop being nice. That goes a long way.
I truly hope that you find a solution. Please post if you get one, I'd love to hear what they come up with for you.
Hi Julia, We have a property manager too, kind of awkward timing as we were literally switching when we got this bill. This should definitely be something they should be leading the charge on right?
This is a good question. Does the property manager pay the utility bill? I don't pay utilities for owners. The city will typically only speak to the person on the bill. However, at the end of the day, it's your money and this is A LOT of money. If it were my $4,500, I'd pitch a tent on the lawn and just stay until we all fixed it.