[AZgranny]

I am aware that most water companies state that their "meters are not capable of "OVER-registering" water usage--only UNDER-registering which they say means a loss of revenue for them.

My water usage jumped from a high of 3000 gal. per month to 8000 gal. for Aug., then made a HUGE jump to 74 K gallons for the following month's usage. (Sept.)

All toilets/sinks/washing mach. faucet/ice maker supply were turned off before we left for a 4 month absence from our house starting on May 20. We had a neighbor serve as our property caretaker while we were gone, and he was contacted immediately & turned off the main water supply to the house when we got the 8 K gallon bill (Sept. 9th). We also had his walk our yard to see if there was any signs of underground leaks---with none observed.

We arrived home & turned all our water back on Sept. 21. Between that time & the receipt of my next water bill on Oct. 7, we did not observe any evidence of water leaks inside or outside the house. Then came the shock of the bill for 74K gal.usage during a time when the house was occupied for only a week of that time, and for all water being turned off for 10 days of the billing cycle.

We immediately disputed the bill & agreed to pay the meter test fee.---meter removed & replaced with new one; told 3 wks for results to be known. Was instead 8 wks. for us to get the results which showed the "flow rate" tested good. So water company says "OK, meter tests good so pay up or be disconnected."

I asked to talk to someone in authority to negotiate a reduction in the billing based on our "high" usage during the previous 2 yrs. of 3000 gal. per month. And the 2 billings we've had with the new meter; one for 3000 gal and the other for 2000 gal. Was told, "no, sorry we cannot lower your bill--water went through the meter & you have to pay for it!"

I was told by the owner of the meter testing company that did the test on my meter, when I asked: CAN air make a meter register the same way that water does? His answer, "Yes, even putting his mouth on the meter & blowing would make the nutating disc turn."

I paid my bill "under protest" and informed the utility company I would be researching all avenues open to me to take my complaint further. I have 2 reps. from the company meeting with me in a few days; the G.M and the customer liaison. So the more I can learn & present to them the better chance I have of getting this resolved.

I might add that while we were away this summer, the company had some pretty major "low water pressure issues due to construction on the system and two wells that were taken out of service during peak demand times." The company was served Notice of Violation by the authorities for pressure "sometimes falling as low at 7.1 psi."

Any comments as to how these issues might effect a water meter to over-register would be greatly appreciated. I've also read about "number grabbing/dragging" on water meters... anybody know about this?

Thanks---and sorry for being so long-winded on this!

[smoothy]

Air can't go through a meter that's turned off. Meaning it has to have someplace to go. If it was turned off at a valve it has noplace to go.

Depending on the type of soil in your area... you may not necessarily get a mud hole if you have a leak between the meter and your house.

You might have a chance to argue it if a leak IS found and repaired that first big bill month... 4 months of heavy usuage later is going to be a lot harder for them to swallow.

You can see for yourself if you have a big leak between the house and the meter. Is to go look at the meter... write down its reading... turn everything off to the house... go to work... or wherever.. and 8 to 12 hours later BEFORE you turn it back on... write down the numbers on the meter again... they should not have changed at all. If they have you are going to have to have it dug up and repaired... unless you have a service contract for that line (which you would pay extra for if its offered) then between the metter and the house is your problem.

74,000 a gallon a month leak you WILL see on the meter in an 8-12 hour period.

[massplumber2008]

Have you tested the toilets for leaks? If not, check for a leaking flapper by dripping 20 drops of a dark food coloring into the toilet tank(s) and then wait a half hour and come back and check the toilet BOWLS. If colored water is present you have found at least one (or more) leakers.

As silly as that sounds, it is the first place to start. Do this test and report back with results and we'll see what else we can think of, OK?

Mark

[AZgranny]

to massplumber2008: The toilet leak test is the 1st thing we did after getting the 74 K gal. bill. It didn't appear to have any food color come through into the bowls, BUT we replaced all the innards of both toilets anyway. Two different water company employees have been here to go through all the leak detector arrow tests on the old meter--arrow not moving. Those 2 along with a 3rd employee verified we did not appear to have had a leak of 74 K gallons between the meter & the house (an area of about 25 x 12 ft.).

to smoothly: I think you may not have understood what I was trying to say---we were gone for 4 months, not that we had high usage for 4 months. The first 2 months we were gone, our bills were our normal usage per month (3000 gal), then the 3rd month it jumped to 8000 gal. which was the first indication something wasn't right. Then the 4th month was 74,000 gallons.

The "meter" was not turned OFF... the water was shut off at the house so that no water was coming into the house or into my drip irrigation lines. As far as the soil here goes---we are in the Phoenix AZ area... red clay, harder-than rock soil. To did a hole to plant a low-water plant/cactus... I have to use a pick ax to chip away a little soil, fill the hole w/water, come back to it later in the day & repeat the process several times in order to get a hole large enough to plant a 5 gal. potted plant.

My next door neighbor was the prop. Caretaker while we were gone, and he walks on the edge of his driveway (to get into his car) that is alongside the area where any leak between the meter & my house would have been. The new meter that was installed is a I-Perle smart meter that provides data for every hr. of every day of the month---and the data does not show any spikes in usage. I don't have grass, don't have a pool (although 74K gal of water would have filled a few backyard pools!), only desert landscape (aka granite gravel) w/ very few drought tolerant plants. And "NO" my neighbors don't have pools---our neighbor/caretaker does have a grass backyard---but he has been so kind as to provide me with his last 12 month's bills showing no discrepancy in "low usage" for him on the months of my high usage. I will probably never know what went on for those 2 months---it's just so perplexing!

[talaniman]

Typo or faulty meter, take your pick, but keep fighting them until you get resolution. Even a letter to the Attorney General of your state as a quick Google search reveals you are hardly alone.

[Milo Dolezal]

In my area, water company estimates water usage - then reader comes out once every 3-6 months (?) to actually read the meter. Our bill has a small asterisk following water usage number indicating it is an estimated usage only. Once the meter was read, they either credit us or add the extra charges to our bill. They estimate our usage based on our previous water usage + some strange multiplier they use. Chances are once you got that large water usage bill they used that number to estimate your future usage. Then it multiplies with following month and so on. So I would guess it is a computer error. I cannot imagine somebody using so much water. Even an underground leak would mean your property would be flooded every day. Let us know how it was resolved. Back to you. Milo

[AZgranny]

The way I understand it, the meter is read by some electronic means--the employee drives by, pushes a button on some-type of reader they hold in the truck and it gives them info off the meter. All of my bills for past 2 yrs. Do not show "estimated" readings. I will report back w/any resolution.