...or how I learned to make sure the toilet is NOT running before I go on vacation.
When we went on a 10 day vacation last month, I performed the standard checks just before we left:
Doors locked - check
Strategic lights left on - check
Water heater on vacation mode - check
AC set to 80 - check
What I've since learned to add to that check list just before I walk out the door is: No water or toilets are running. Had I done that, the result would have been - FALSE!!
When we came back home the first thing I noticed was that the toilet was running... and my first horrified thought was "Oh my gosh!, the toilet has been running for 10 days!"
Our water bill said that we used 68000 gallons of water and that I owed $165 in water charges. With the other fees for trash and sewer and the bill tops out at $206.53
To check the validity of the bill I determined that my tank held 3.17 gallons of water, and that it took 45 seconds to fill it up. 3.17 gallons in 45 seconds equates to 253.6 gal/hr .
253.6 gal/hr for 10 days equals 60864 gallons of water, quite literally flushed straight down the toilet. OUCH!
7 comments:
We had a sheet similar to this one that we had to show some folks who didn't take the time to do the math like you did. :http://www.cityofspearfish.com/pdf/Water%2520Tips.pdf
It adds up quick! Leak detectors can pay for themselves and even better, cities that are installing wireless meters often can allow customers to see flow in real-time online.
City-wide, it can add up to significant user savings as well as less stress on the system, especially during peak hours.
Thanks for the link http://www.cityofspearfish.com/finance/water_tips.htm
You bet!
Steven,
Call up the city and explain what happened. You can probably get a credit to reduce your bill to what it normally is.
If they give you crap about it, shoot me an email.
Unfortunately, and this makes sense to me, but the city will not offer a credit unless there is a leak that is repaired. No credits for running toilets or leaky faucets.
I've a not quite similar problem with a tenants' water. 20K gal/mo said to be a 'leak'. Yet after repeated inspections and digging up half the yard, no leak can be found.
They all claim any underground leak would be showing at that rate, yet nothing.
They also say it's 'impossible' for it to be a bad meter, saying a meter can fail only in a reduced reading or no reading at all.
I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Has anyone ever heard of a meter overreading?
If it is a positive displacement meter (the most common) then it really isn't likely. The only way a meter could go backwards would be on a cam valve unit and you would have to have higher water pressure inside your house than coming from the main (can easily be 70lbs or more) A flap valve meter can't physically over read as far as I know.
Miss reading a meter is possible. If someone wasn't reading a meter correctly for a month or so then someone came behind and correctly read it, it could show significant usage.
Were the readings for prior months normal?
Have you tried turning everything off and seeing if the meter is turning?
Remember, 20k is a VERY small leak. Normal usage should be around 5k so that means your leak is not much bigger than a pin hole. You wont necessarily see it in the yard.
I would check the meter yourself and make sure it is getting read correctly.
If that checks out okay I would watch the meter for several hours with everything off inside.
Here is a good link to explain how to read your meter. If it is the old style, have fun! :)
http://consumerist.com/2009/01/how-to-read-a-water-meter.html
Best of luck!
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