Hello all,

My past couple water bills have been over $1000 each. I have had two leak detection guys come out and they can't find the leak. They even went under the house and all the pipes are fine and there's no moisture. The water company (Tampa, FL) says their readings are accurate. The amount of water seems nearly impossible though. For example, for the last 29 days of service, my usage is supposedly 152,000 gallons. I don't appear to have a main water shutoff at the house, so I've only been able to stop the flow by shutting it off at the meter. I am not sure what to do next. My homeowners insurance will open a claim if I ask, but my deductible is almost $5000 and, being in Florida, they will almost definitely drop my coverage. The leak detection guy recommends replacing the line from the meter to the house, but wouldn't it be noticeable somewhere on the property that so much water is being leaked? Thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts. We are staying at a hotel for the time being and it's not cheap!

??? IRRIGATION SYSTEM ???

If yes, VALVE it off and see if problem persists - a bad zone valve (due to the buried heads) will not 'show'

If no,

Install a QUALITY ball valve at / juuust before the house and shut it.

+ check the 'leak detector' triangle at the meter, if moving replace the main

if not moving, leave isolation valve off - read meter - have looonnnng picnic - read meter again, if reading changed replace the main - if reading remained constant EITHER:

neighbor stealing water

or

hidden leak at house (? under slab, in crawlspace ?)

==============================================

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



Edited 1 times.

1. Have determine that there IS a leak? Which should be easy to do.
2. If there is a leak, than a "good" detection company will be able to locate it
3. If there is NO leak, then someone has to determine why the bill is so high.

Being in Florida i would imagine that the water main to your house is not buried very deep if there was a leak it would be very noticeable almost like a pond at 152,000 gallons a month that’s a lot even if it was an irrigation leak it would be noticeable

I would have the water company come out and take a look and change the meter to eliminate the possibility of faulty readings

There are some homework you can do yourself, although I have no idea what the leak detection company might have already done.

Go to the water meter outside, and observe the reading. There should be some kind of flow indicator, like a triangle spinning indicating usage. Is it spinning? Are the numbers on the indicator slowly moving when you have no apparent usage in the house? If so, you MAY have a leak.

Next step would be to isolate the leak whether it is between the meter and the house on the outside or inside the house. This is done by turning off the main shutoff before it enters the house. You said you don't have such a shutoff valve. This is highly unlikely. I suggest you go look for it, it is possible it is buried in dirt. Look at the meter and the house and most likely in Florida with no basement you will see a riser pipe come up the exterior wall then disappear into the wall. Find the riser pipe and dig backwards towards the meter. I bet you will find a shutoff valve. It may be totally rusted and inoperable though. If you can find such valve turn it on and off to see if it can make the meter stop spinning. It is can stop the meter the leak is inside the house. If it cannot, then the valve may be broken or the leak is between meter and house.

If it is inside the house, go turn off the water heater inlet valve. If that stops the meter spinning, then it's on the hot side. If it does not, then it's on the cold side.

Once you narrow it down, then try getting professional help.

I would also turn the meter back on, and leave it on for an hour, and see what the reading is before and after that hour. See if that multiplies to what you have been billed over the billing period.