The Water bill from Hell- Campbelltown

[luvvit]

Hey guys

Just got my last quarter water bill for a property I own at Campbelltown NSW. Same family, nothing has changed, but the water bill has gone from (this time last year) 690 litres per day, to todays whopping 2494 litres per day.

family says everything is fine, no problems, no leaks.. but the last two bills have gone up and up, so I reckon there might be a pipe burst somewhere.

Now can anyone point me in the direction of a good plumber in the campbelltown region that might be able to detect any leaks from underground pipes???.... would prefer to go from a recommendation rather than the yellow pages, or god forbid, the PM's plumber......

Luvvit.

 

[weg]

Here in SA if you have a leak and a plumber to verify it, they give you a huge reduction in the bill. Mine was about 50%.

If yours is a leak it's worth inquiring about.

 

[wylie]

We had a similar scenario where clearly nothing had changed. We tested the water meter ourselves for two hours and then one whole day when the tenants were not in the house.

Council did a $50 test on the line from the footpath meter to the front tap. We could see all the pipes under the house so it was clear there were no leaks in the pipes. Hubby dug up the pipe from gate to house but earth was nice and dry. We couldn't find a reason for the elevated usage.

Turns out the downstairs toilet was allowing a dribble of water to constantly leak from the cistern. It was an old "original" loo and we replaced it with a dual flush. End of problem.

But it was not easy to find, though that sounds hard to believe now we know where the issue was. It took us a while to pinpoint what was leaking.

 

[Piston Broke]

Almost 2000 ltrs of water a day is not a dribbling toilet or tap.
Its not that hard to turn off all taps and check meter.
That amount of water will be obvious.
Check if the neighbours have a pool.

 

[The Y-man]

For our ppor in Victoria, the plumber found the leak just after our meter. After fixing, we called the water company and they made a leakage adjustment back on our water bill (bringing that bill back to our "normal" usage) which was good.

The Y-man

 

[The Y-man]

Almost 2000 ltrs of water a day is not a dribbling toilet or tap.
Its not that hard to turn off all taps and check meter.
That amount of water will be obvious.
Check if the neighbours have a pool.

Actually, now that you mention it - I agree - 2000 l per day would be pretty noticeable if it was a leak!!!

The Y-man

 

[Graingrower]

Just got my last quarter water bill for a property I own at Campbelltown NSW. Same family, nothing has changed, but the water bill has gone from (this time last year) 690 litres per day, to todays whopping 2494 litres per day.

That is a lot of water, 230,000L Litres or 230 cubic meters. Approx 2L/min. A garden hose would run at maybe 10 L/min

1. Check the meter, does the reading match? Can you get the PM or tenant to read it?

2. If there was a leaking pipe or it was used on the garden there would be water oozing out of the lowest point on the block (unless the property is on very deep sand).

If the meter is correct and there is no obvious wet spot (it should be pretty obvious) then the water is either going down a stormwater drain, down the sewerage, or in a neighbours pool.

3. Stormwater. Has a kid stuffed a garden hose down a drain and left it going for a couple of weeks?

4. Sewerage. A very leaking tap, toilet cistern or Hot water service relief valve. Worse case, they may have a hydroponics setup!

 

[nww]

Will you be handing the water bill to tenants if no leaks are detected.

 

[charlieandkath]

Leaking toilet could be a possibility for sure. 1800 litres a day extra is 1.25 litres a minute. Just did an experiment and our 12 litre cisterns fill up in 51 seconds which is what about 14 litres per minute. Therefore a toilet could easily leak 1.25 litres per minute.

 

[Graingrower]

Leaking toilet could be a possibility for sure. 1800 litres a day extra is 1.25 litres a minute. Just did an experiment and our 12 litre cisterns fill up in 51 seconds which is what about 14 litres per minute. Therefore a toilet could easily leak 1.25 litres per minute.

Charlie you should have a 6L cistern. Don't you know that the world is running out of water.

 

[charlieandkath]

Charlie you should have a 6L cistern. Don't you know that the world is running out of water.

Only use it every few days, thats the good thing about being a farmer.

 

[Doovalacky]

Is Camptelltown sand?
Around here its quite common for trees to crack waterlines or lawn irrigation pipes and no wet spot. Water just heads straight down so the first you know it is the increased bill.

 

[twodogs]

I've had the same tenants in a house in Willmot for over 11 years. The month they moved in the water bill hit about 2000-2300 litres per day and has stayed there ever since. Each quarter about $300-$350 in water usage alone. Garden is bone dry, house is still there so the only place for all that water to have gone is down the drain.

It's a battle, but I get most of that paid when I send in the claim. They have never questioned the usage, just slow to pay. Two bills agoI sent pictures of balloons and streamers with the bill as it was a new record.