If anyone has information on water leak help or laws in Texas I am all ears. I have a family of 4, no garden watering, no pools, nothing crazy and my water bill normally runs about $250 a month. My last bill was 70,000 gallons and about $1600, and my reading as of last Friday was 222,000 gallons! That bil is going to be tripple!

I have have a few bad leaks, but have fixed them immediately after locating them. One issue is my water line runs from street under neighbors 50 acres to my back yard - so when I suspect a leak I have to ask permission from neighbor to go walk the line and see if I see one.

I was just wondering if there are any laws or advice I could look in to to maybe help me work out a payment plan or relief for these high bills...

drowning in water debt here.... T.

Walking along the line may NOT show you where a leak is. They usually drain down into the ground until they get so bad that they force their way up to the surface. If you are not 'using' the water, then you need to have a plumber check the system and find out WHERE it is going.

Ok thanks, will do!

you ABSOLUTELY need the meter on YOUR property

? not saying, but, perhaps the line was tapped after the meter ?

? how would you know ?

get a licensed QUALIFIED bonded insured plumber ASAP

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

and that is one of the reasons your line should be either on your property or in an easement.

HJ, I don't know about this posters area but in the area of north Texas I am in a leak can show up very quickly because of all the cracks in the soil. It contracts and expands so much and we have been fairly dry for years that it often has fissures for the water to follow to the surface. We call it black gumbo around here, sticky as all get out when moist.

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

In this area, the water lines are often near the sewer lines so that trench becomes a ready conduit for leaking water long before it ever appears on the surface.

quote: get a licensed QUALIFIED bonded insured plumber ASAP"

Ditto and ditto. Once the plumber finds and corrects the problem, you can present that information to the water authority and politely plead for rectification of the bill.

That will give you the best ammo. They don't need you to call and complain about the bill or say that you've been poking around in the dirt and can't find nothing, or you had uncle billy bob to come over and wrap some tape on a leaky pipe. That won't fly too good.

quote; ou can present that information to the water authority and politely plead for rectification of the bill.

Well, that and $4.95 will get you a cup of coffee. In most cases their attitude is the you USED the water for "something" because it went through your meter and they had to furnish it, so pay the bill.

correct, but they 'generally' will issue a credit for the sewerage use as a leak into the ground did not cause any use of their sewage treatment plant

in my neck of the woods the sewer is about 40% of the bill

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

You are assuming a municipal employee, or bureaucrat, actually as some common sense?