My crazy crazy water bill... HELP!

[Anonymous]

I 'd like to get an idea on what you're paying for your quarterly water bill? These are my quarterly bills from years past.

2008: $187, $263, $ 350 , $3xx
2009: $314, $329, $439 , $4xx
2010: $4xx for all quarters
2011: $464

Some back ground info. I live in a townhouse in Falls Church (Fairfax county). I do not water the lawn. We had a baby in Aug 2008. Laundry was once a week in 2008 but increased to twice a week since the baby arrived. We do not use a dishwasher. My wife and I do not draw baths. Our showers are 10 minutes if that long even. In 2010, we started drawing a "bath" for my toddler each night. We're talking maybe 6 inches of water in a bath tub once a day. My toilets are not leaking. My taps do not drip. We come from a place where water is scarce and we've been brought up with the mind set of saving water whenever we can. That means no tap running while brushing teeth....etc etc

I can see a gradual increase over the years which is no doubt due to increased water demands of having a child. I did not think my bill was rediculous until I saw a friends quarterly bill of $62. I was FLOORED. She too has a toddler.

Can you all give me an idea if my water bill is way out there for a family of 3? My fairfax water bill states I consumed 72x1000 gallons of water last quarter. I have not located my water meter but will try to find it tomorrow in daylight to check for underground leaks.

Please help.

[Anonymous]

That absolutely has to be wrong. We also live in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church. I'd say our usage is pretty similar to yours and our quarterly bill has never been higher than $120--usually more like $70.

[Anonymous]

It's possible you have a leak outside. Call the company to come out and inspect. I think you can get a one time write-off. I'm really sorry.

[Anonymous]

That seems exceptionally high. My quarterly water bill in McLean is usually about $100 or less, for a family of five.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a toilet that is running? We had a water bill that was crazy high and it turned out we had a toilet running all day, every day, for months.

[Anonymous]

Ours had a big jump recently. You need to call a plumber. It is very likely that you've been leaking water into the ground all this time. There is no way you're using 72K gallons. If it is reading on the meter, the leak is on your side and not the water company's issue. Their responsibility stops at the meter. In my reading, it looks like home owners insurance may cover it if is under the house. You are stuck with the whole repair bill if it's in the yard. Check your policy for your specifics and good luck.

[Anonymous]

Is your water from Fairfax County Water or the City of Falls Church?

Right now, the City of Falls Church maybe undergo a class action lawsuit in regards to the water billing pricing (making a profit from a utility is against the law) and they are suppose to be refunding the County and their customers.

Linda Smyth wrote about it in her newsletter (page 4)
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/providence/doc/newsletter16final.pdf

[Anonymous]

You have some sort of leak...

[Anonymous]

You must have a leak. Let me put it into perspective for you. I have a family of 5, all of whom shower every single day. I do about 5 loads of laundry a week on average. I run the dishwasher daily. We do sometimes water our lawn and we wash our cars (except when there are water restrictions). We fill a swimming pool a few times a summer. The highest quarterly water bill I've had until this last one was under $100. This time, our rates increased and I think it went up to $112. Even something as small as a running toilet can cost you mega bucks.

[Anonymous]

PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THAT A PLUMBING PROBLEM/LEAK HAS NEVER OCCURED TO YOU?

[Anonymous]

Okay everyone, be nice!!!!
She is asking a question, no need to be condescending!

OP -

1) is there any new construction going on around you? perhaps someone is using your water source (like construction crews) ?

2) Drop some food color into your toilet tanks - the part where the flushing mechanism is. Wait a bit and see if the color leaks into your toilet. If so, you have a leak!
And let me be the first to tell you from experience, a toilet leak will cause a HUGE spike in your water bill

3) Call the water company on Tuesday - assuming they are closed tomorrow. Have them do a water audit. they will look at your usage history and see that your numbers are too high for the size of your home and the number of people in the home.

[Anonymous]

PS - PP here.
Single family home, 4000 sqft, 4 people. 1/4 acre lawn that we water and take good care of, along with our plantings.

Quarterly bill is about $120.

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's crazy. We're in a SFH, 2 kids and one on the way, we use water quite regulalry. Normal quarterly FX County Water Authority bill is around $90. Definitely get yours checked out.

[Anonymous]

Yes that sounds crazy. Definitely have the meter checked too, although I can't believe it's been this high for so many years.

[Anonymous]

I live in FFX and get water through city of falls church. SFH, no lawn watering, but 3 adults who shower every day, plus lots of laundry and dishes. Never had a quarterly bill higher than $105.

My guess: you either have a leak, or someone is stealing your water through an outdoor faucet. For the former, with bills that high, you need to consider a water line leak. For the latter, does your townhouse community have landscapers who come in regularly? Or is there a neighbor with a hot tub or something? Put locks on your outdoor faucets and see what happens to your bill. I would also wonder if somehow multiple units are being metered through your unit only, for some reason.