We receive calls about higher than normal water bills on a regular basis. Under normal circumstances we’d schedule an appointment to visually check the meter, look for leaks, etc. However, we are not entering homes or businesses for the foreseeable future unless it’s for an emergency.
When confronted with a high bill, customers often ask questions such as where did the water go or how could I possibly use that much water. Well the simplest answer is that from the limited information available, there is really no possible way for us to know where the water went once it went through the meter. The information used to generate the bill – start and end meter readings can be augmented with one or two readings taken during the billing cycle and that is about it. A similar question would be where did I drive my car over the past 3 months based on start/end odometer readings. The result would be a similar answer - we don’t know where you went, just how far.
However, if monthly readings are available then the pattern and volume of use may make one explanation more reasonable than others but in the end it’s our best guess. In some cases, an explanation can’t be found and it comes down to meter accuracy – did the water go through the meter or not. Meters are typically pulled and sent to a vendor for testing when this occurs.
Once the readings are verified then we can start asking questions such as:
