getting hosed by the water company

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Every month my usage and payment goes up and up doubled then tripled. I have taken pictures of the meter with a time and date stamp and can prove they are screwing it up. Question is the lady where we pay won't help at all. Who do you call in these situations?
 
Do you have a water district or some organization the has the responsibility for water and sewer in your community?

In the 70's in San Diego they had a big push for water conservation and people responded. The usage dropped dramatically. Then the water district announced a rate increase because of the dramatic drop in usage to make up for the revenue short fall. Politically controlled organizations really do need the ability to raise rates or taxes because they are not required to be efficient or effective.
 
There is no basement and I've been monitoring 5he meter we aren't using even close to what they are saying. In 15days we use 2080 gallons.
 
Look at the meter before you go to work and when you go home look at it and see if it has moved. If so then there is something wrong with it.
 
In the morning stick your hand in the toilet tank. If it's cold you're leaking water through it. If it's room temperature things are good.
 
Or just turn the water off to your commodes to see if they empty over night.

Do you have a newer digital water meter? I know my household averages about ~3250gallons/month. We get billed quarterly. It's about $45/quarter.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Every month my usage and payment goes up and up doubled then tripled. I have taken pictures of the meter with a time and date stamp and can prove they are screwing it up. Question is the lady where we pay won't help at all. Who do you call in these situations?


I feel your pain. I don't think my hydro company is screwing up, I just didn't realize how much bloody water I was using. We used to be flat rate until last month, so if I used 30 swimming pools worth in a month it didn't matter. Now it matters. I used 59 cubic meters of water last month. Apparently that's a lot (15,586 gallons!). My dad used 18 (4,755 gallons). It increased my hydro bill to just under $400.00
crazy2.gif


I've now installed that super low water usage Kohler toilet, so I'm a bit anxious to see what effect that's had on my usage.
 
Corporations and monopolies know the consumers are mostly dumb and will accept being screwed.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Every month my usage and payment goes up and up doubled then tripled. I have taken pictures of the meter with a time and date stamp and can prove they are screwing it up. Question is the lady where we pay won't help at all. Who do you call in these situations?


I feel your pain. I don't think my hydro company is screwing up, I just didn't realize how much bloody water I was using. We used to be flat rate until last month, so if I used 30 swimming pools worth in a month it didn't matter. Now it matters. I used 59 cubic meters of water last month. Apparently that's a lot (15,586 gallons!). My dad used 18 (4,755 gallons). It increased my hydro bill to just under $400.00
crazy2.gif


I've now installed that super low water usage Kohler toilet, so I'm a bit anxious to see what effect that's had on my usage.


wow, I just looked at our water bill. We used just over 14,000 gallons over the past 2 months (we get billed every 2 months). Our bill was $112. I doubt the new toilets will change your usage much. Do you have a lawn irrigation system? Wash your cars once a week? I have 4 total living in my house and I cannot imagine using twice the amount of h20 that we do.
 
Do you pay your water bill at the city or at a random bill pay location?

You need to talk to someone at the water/utilities dept.

Overkill- 15000gallons holy poo. My household of 2 averages 2400-2600 a month. Does each kid get a full bath daily?
I could see that adding up but still nothing close to 15000

If the antique toilet(5gal?) was flushed 30x a day that would have been 150x30=4500

Is their any possibility its your neighbor(s) water as well?
 
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If you can't get the issue resolved, contact the office of your State Senator and ask them to call the water company on your behalf. You will be amazed at how quick of a response that you will get to your problem.
 
In 15 days we used 2080 gallons. I documented with pictures and times. No way are we using so much. Calling the senator isn't a bad idea.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
There is no basement and I've been monitoring 5he meter we aren't using even close to what they are saying. In 15days we use 2080 gallons.


Have them actually come out and actually read the meter. Usually on water meters there's usually a dial that will spin if there's any water go through the meter. If it turns slowly, that's an indication you have a leak like in a toilet. Changing to low flow shower heads might also cut down on usage.
 
So paint a better picture for us. You keep saying 2080 gallons, but is that good or bad? How am I supposed to know?

You say youve been documenting the meter - so the meter is saying youre using less than they are billing you for? What amounts? Are you sure your units are correct, like cubic feet, cubic yards, cubic meters, liters?

How do they collect data? Do they estimate usage, pull a signal wirelessly, or pull a signal through a box on the side of your house?
 
Actually 4000g a month for a family of 4? Isn't so bad

We do need some clarity.

Ram-man's inital post and followups were long on rant and short on facts.
 
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