Water usage

[KentState]

I received my first monthly water bill at the house I just moved into. According to the bill, I've used 12,900 gallons of water over a 30 day period, where I was out of town for 5 days. I verified the current reading and the one taken when I moved in so I know that is part was recorded properly.

Is this even possible with two adults?

At my old house, with just me, the most I used during the summer while watering was 3,000 gallons.

Currently as I type this, I'm checking the meter over an hour period with nothing running to make sure there isn't a leak.

 

[tasmanian]

Check your toilet.

 

[nycxandy]

Something is definitely wrong. On average, a person uses 100 gallons of water per day.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Got a pool?
Do your neighbors have a pool?

 

[KentState]

No one around me has a pool and I just double checked the toilet and they do not appear to be running. I would think at the rate I'm using water, you would be able to hear something or at least the water moving in the tank.

 

[tasmanian]

Do you have a sprinkler system? Only other thing i can think of is one of your pipes has a bad leak.

 

[Scouzer]

I predict a pretty nasty surprise in the near future for you

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Do you have a sprinkler system? Are you in an adjoined building?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, I'm going with water leak on this one. Either that or your neighbors hate you and are turning on your garden hose when you're away.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: KentState
No one around me has a pool and I just double checked the toilet and they do not appear to be running. I would think at the rate I'm using water, you would be able to hear something or at least the water moving in the tank.

Put a couple of drops of food coloring in the tank...if it's leaking, you should be able to see color in the bowl within a few minutes.

 

[Baked]

Sounds like somebody's stealing your water. Better put a lockbox on your outside water faucets.

 

[KentState]

So far this is what I checked:

All faucets interior/exterior
Checked showers and tub
Turned off the water valve on all toilets
Checked washer hookups
Don't have icemaker
No pool/No neighbors with pool

Wold a house built on a slab have a main water valve that I could turn off?

The test arm on my water meter appears to be moving slowly. According to this site (I don't live there, just a reference): http://www.sandiego.gov/water/rates/checking.shtml that means that water is still flowing in to the house, or at least through the meter.

Also, I'm renting this house so if there is something wrong, this won't come out of my pocket.

 

[Evadman]

Sorry, I was thirsty.

 

[Chiropteran]

I don't use any water, I just borrow it temporarily before returning it.

 

[kranky]

Most likely culprit is toilets. There should be a valve at each toilet near the wall. Turn those off and see if your meter stops. If so, you found the problem.

 

[D1gger]

I'd guess you have a leak in the water service between the meter and your house.

 

[KentState]

Ok, well I found the main water shutoff to the house and closed it. Went to check the meter and it's still spinning. I guess somewhere between the meter and house, there is a leak.

 

[LTC8K6]

Happened to me.

Had a larger than possible water bill since I was not in the house, but no obvious source of a leak.

Turned off the valve coming in to the house, but the water meter was still moving. Leak was under the front porch.

I fixed it, showed the repair bills to the city water folks, and they adjusted my bill down to my average use.

 

[feralkid]

Time to rent a trencher, I guess.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Check the meter outside at curb to see if the meter spins (little diamond or bar shape in meter) when all valves are off (main household valve on), indicate there is a water leak.

House water main valve off and meter doesn't spins mean that there is a leak in the house.

Check all valves for drips, make sure that the toilets valve isn't running silently. Check for piping leakage in the basement/cawspace.

Turn the house water main off (valve within the first 3' of pipe enter the house from outside, should be some where close to the HWT) and check the meter outside at curb to see if the little dial with a diamond or bar spins. If the meter dial spins, there is a leak underground between the curb & house shut off valve.

Replace pipe between the meter and house main valve (must follow plumbing code, and local code). Remeber to "call befor you dig".

PS. At that volume, my hunch is the main service water leak outside.

 

[KentState]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
Check the meter outside at curb to see if the meter spins (little diamond or bar shape in meter) when all valves are off (main household valve on), indicate there is a water leak.

House water main valve off and meter doesn't spins mean that there is a leak in the house.

Check all valves for drips, make sure that the toilets valve isn't running silently. Check for piping leakage in the basement/cawspace.

Turn the house water main off (valve within the first 3' of pipe enter the house from outside, should be some where close to the HWT) and check the meter outside at curb to see if the little dial with a diamond or bar spins. If the meter dial spins, there is a leak underground between the curb & house shut off valve.

Replace pipe between the meter and house main valve (must follow plumbing code, and local code). Remeber to "call befor you dig".

It's the pipe between meter and house. I called the landlord and he is suppose to be getting a plumber out here. Amazing how 10-15 gallons an hour can dissipate, but still add up to a large problem.

 

[drnickriviera]

Originally posted by: nycxandy
Something is definitely wrong. On average, a person uses 100 gallons of water per day.

That number is way off, or the rest of America waste a ton of water.

I read the water meters for my city and most average 2-6k per month for 2-4 people.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: drnickriviera

Originally posted by: nycxandy
Something is definitely wrong. On average, a person uses 100 gallons of water per day.

That number is way off, or the rest of America waste a ton of water.

I read the water meters for my city and most average 2-6k per month for 2-4 people.

each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per dayt -- USGS