Madison Utilities Water Issue (house, new construction, costs)

[lizinva]

I moved into my home at the end of September. Starting with my March bill I have been charged over $40.00 for Sprinkler usage. My house water bill has been fine.

I have not been using the sprinkler system so I called last month the minute I got the bill. I was told that I must have a leak and to have my system checked. I called a local company and they came out, checked the entire system and detected no leaks.

Today I got my bill and I was charged $44.00 for sprinkler usage. The only time I had the system on was for 2 15 minute waterings to soak some fertilizer into the lawn.

I went to the curb and looked at the meter and the red wheel that would spin if water was being used was stationary. In my mind, if there is a leak it should always be spinning.

I called the water company and she was no help. She told me there is definitely usage and their only responsibility was to read the meter. I told her I am not paying for water I am not using and they finally agreed to send someone out.

Has anyone had an issue like this with their meter? I have to believe there is an issue at their end. The woman I spoke with told me if it was their meter it would just burn out and I would be getting free water. Hah!

If anyone has any advice I would appreciate it. I did call the irrigation company and once I hear what the water company says I may have to have them come out. (They were just here March 21st)

Thank you in advance

[RocketCityMama]

Yep we had that problem too, never used it and the bill kept showing up. This was for Hsv Utilities though. Called them, they said to check the meter to see if it was moving, so I think we used a toothpick and then checked a few days later and it had moved. We eventually found out we had a leak in a pipe in the yard. Found the wet spot one day, it finally showed up in the lawn. :/

[lizinva]

Thanks Rocketcitymama, Who did you call to find out it was a pipe in the lawn? I might have to look into that if the meter is o.k.

[Reactionary]

liz - call a plumber; I like Madison Plumbing plus they do leak detection:

Home

[VMH2507]

I had a leak in my front yard a while back. It was on my side of the meter so I had to get fixed. Madison Utilities did give me a partial rebate - I assume for the sewerage portion of bill. I don't have a sprinkler system though.

[CoreLysium]

$40 is quite a bit of water.

If water still costs $1.25/1000gal like it did a few years ago, that's 32k gallons. That's a decent sized swimming pool. At first I was going to ask if it was new construction and maybe the meters were switched, which often happens, but 32k gallons is more than you could use in your house without a toilet leaking.

But the way HU's billing works is if something unusual comes in, the computer flags it as a "HILO" error and it gets reread. Sometimes up to three times. Any HU employee that comes out is just going to look at the meter and say the things that the person on the phone said.

[DaMadHatter]

A little different topic but still a "Madison Utilities Water Issue". Should my sewage bill be 30% more than my water bill?

[CoreLysium]

It's about 3x more in HSV.

The EPA requires a percent removal of contaminants (solids and dissolved stuff too) before the water can be put back into the river, and it's much cleaner than the river water when it goes back (though the solids are different...feh.) The solids removed have to be broken down in a giant digester, then dried, then incinerated, then the ash has to be dealt with, going into the landfill. Not cheap.

HU just mechanically screens the big chunks out and then chlorinates it to 4ppm and ships it on. Much cheaper. Though the high pressure distribution lines would be more of a pain.

[lizinva]

I appreciate all the reply's. I don't know if the water company came out, I hope they will notify me of their findings.

My plan of action is to have a plumber come out, I will use the recommendation above and then go from there. I will definitely let you know what happens.

I find it hard to believe I have a major leak using that many gallons of water and no standing water in my yard. I also don't see the meter running so I have no idea what is going on. Very frustrating

[RocketCityMama]

Originally Posted by lizinva

Thanks Rocketcitymama, Who did you call to find out it was a pipe in the lawn? I might have to look into that if the meter is o.k.

We found a pretty decent size soggy soggy circle in the yard. We never did get a plumber to come, couldn't afford it at the time. Right now we just have it turned off since we didn't use it anyway.