If your water bill is suddenly much higher than usual, do not wait for the next one: compare it with the same period last year, rule out obvious causes like a running toilet or irrigation, check your water meter for a hidden leak, and have the source located if the meter shows water is being lost. A continuous leak keeps costing money every day it runs.
Step 1: Compare the bill fairly
Water use naturally changes with the seasons, landscape watering, guests and new appliances. Compare your bill with the same billing period from the previous year rather than last month. Also check whether rates changed or the bill covers more days than usual.
Step 2: Rule out the common culprits
- Running or leaking toilets. A toilet that refills on its own can waste a surprising amount of water. Use the food coloring dye test in the tank.
- Irrigation. Broken sprinkler heads, leaking valves and lines, or a timer running more often than intended.
- Dripping faucets and showerheads.
- Pools, water softeners and appliances that may be cycling or leaking.
Step 3: Check the water meter
Turn off every fixture, appliance and irrigation zone, then watch the meter. If the dial or leak indicator keeps moving, water is escaping. Take a reading, use no water for an hour or two, and read it again to confirm. See reading your water meter.
Step 4: Look for hidden-leak signs
- Warm spots on floors, which can mean a hot water leak under the slab
- Damp spots, stains or musty odors
- Soggy patches of lawn, which can point to an underground or irrigation leak
- The sound of running water when nothing is on
Step 5: If you find a leak, limit the damage
If water is visibly escaping, shut off the water at the main valve. Know where it is before you need it; see how to turn off your water in an emergency.
Step 6: Have the source located
When the meter confirms a leak but you cannot find it, the leak is often under a slab, inside a wall or underground. A specialist isolates the leaking line with pressure testing and pinpoints it with acoustic and thermal tools, so the repair is targeted. See high water bill detection.
Talk to your water provider
Keep copies of the high bills and note when the problem began. Some water providers have policies for bills affected by repaired leaks; ask yours what documentation they need.
More reading: 5 main reasons for a high water bill. If your bill has jumped, call 1st Response Leak Detection at (619) 374-8554 or request service.