What's your biggest water bill ever?

Major water leak, only detected after neighbour's property flooded, has occurred at my rental property and I'm bracing for what I expect to be a huge water bill. Knowing what others have come up against may help me to prepare for it. (and yes, I could get the PM to go out and read the meter now, but I am curious about others' bills)

For starters, I'll share my most recent PPOR bill from earlier this year.

Undetected leak at block of 4 units brought about a $2800 water bill for each unit, essentially $8000+ alone for water usage for 6 months. Applied to council for consideration and the water usage component was reduced by 40%, with the final bill around $1300. (Figures not exact).

Had it been a house and not been a block of units, an individual owner would have had to wear all of that cost.

Now I've had the same thing happen in my IP. :eek:
I will apply for water relief but am concerned that I'll be the one up for a bill of that magnitude. Have already covered the $900+ to find and repair the leak under the concrete driveway.

Not feeling it is a good year for my IP..... :(

ps Does any insurance cover one for the something like this?
 
I feel your pain.

Undetected water leak on one of my IP's.

Plumber unable to find (older style property).

All up was close to $ 3000.

$ 1800 to have the house replumbed.

$ 1200 in excess water charges.

We had our plumber supply a letter stating it was undetected (leaking underground),

Council came back with a minor reduction (came in close to $ 800).

With a warning, no discount to be given on next time around.

I have not looked into the insurance policy yet (but reminds me to do so).

Followed by a call from my agent last week saying there was another leak.

Looks like my plumber did a great job.

Apart from looking for another plumber, still awaiting the outcome of the next bill.

Cheers,

Fourex.
 
We received a letter from our water provider (Canada) earlier this year, stating our water consumption was higher than normal.They suggested we look for a leak....we found one.

Do they do that here?
 
Last quarter we had a leaky pipe and it took a week for us to get it fixed. I don't recall what the figure was, but it was about 4 times the normal amount.
 
Having just gone through a leaking pipe issue,the way SA Water do their calculation is as follows.
You can only claim this reduction per property every 9 years.
They look at your last quarters usage,look at the difference,and give you a 50% reduction,based on their calculations.
 
Tenants are responsible for checking for and reporting water leaks as part of maintaining the property.

We now inform them to check regularly the water meter for possible leaks as they are responsible for paying for consumption, unless a leak is discovered within reasonable time of course.
 
I had one an an IP a while ago. Rang my plumber who put me in contact with a sonar mob. Found the leak (within about a foot). Plumber dug out the broken pipe and repaired. Sydney water required a letter from the plumber and all was basically waived (bar normal charges).
 
We received a letter from our water provider (Canada) earlier this year, stating our water consumption was higher than normal.They suggested we look for a leak....we found one.

Do they do that here?

yeah the g/f had one of them (SA water) no leak tho just unusually high water usage that qtr
 
In QLD - Urban utilities do send letters if the usage increases significantly over periods.

We had one case just recently where the meters were not being read by QLDUT and the owners had very very small bills (just the access charges plus common areas water that the gardeners used)

Then when QLDUT realised their mistake and started reading the meters, all the owners got a letter advising them that their usage had tripled, and to look for a leak. (even though the new usage was well within the range of normal usage).

They then all rang me. That was a fun conversation to have 20 times in a row.
 
I feel your pain.



$ 1200 in excess water charges.




Fourex.

Went around to check the meter. Current use from last reading shows 670kl, so around 500kl in excess water which at Council rates of $2.98 per kl will be around $1500 more than usual.
Think I'll be the winner with the highest bill....... though the prize is pretty poor...:(

Anyone else care to better it?

Not as bad as it could be I guess. Know of one other case where water use was $5000, and the plumber said the highest they've seen was for $10,000 because of a leak.

Council will give consideration of up to 40% of the bill once every three years, so will apply for that.

Have been trying to find if there is any kind of alarm to detect unusual water flow. It would be an excellent investment. Haven't found one yet.
 
Major water leak, only detected after neighbour's property flooded, has occurred at my rental property and I'm bracing for what I expect to be a huge water bill. Knowing what others have come up against may help me to prepare for it. (and yes, I could get the PM to go out and read the meter now, but I am curious about others' bills)

For starters, I'll share my most recent PPOR bill from earlier this year.

Undetected leak at block of 4 units brought about a $2800 water bill for each unit, essentially $8000+ alone for water usage for 6 months. Applied to council for consideration and the water usage component was reduced by 40%, with the final bill around $1300. (Figures not exact).

Had it been a house and not been a block of units, an individual owner would have had to wear all of that cost.

Now I've had the same thing happen in my IP. :eek:
I will apply for water relief but am concerned that I'll be the one up for a bill of that magnitude. Have already covered the $900+ to find and repair the leak under the concrete driveway.

Not feeling it is a good year for my IP..... :(

ps Does any insurance cover one for the something like this?
We had a $10,000 bill at our unit in Frangers - tree root caused it.

The Council waived most of it, but we still had a $1500 bill from it.
 
We received a letter from our water provider (Canada) earlier this year, stating our water consumption was higher than normal.They suggested we look for a leak....we found one.

Do they do that here?

Yes. In fact my PM was alerted to the problem here with a call from council, after flooding was noted on neighbours property. Unfortunately still a lot of water lost before it was detected, and even the plumber couldn't find the leak without specialised leak detection equipment.
 
We had a $10,000 bill at our unit in Frangers - tree root caused it.

The Council waived most of it, but we still had a $1500 bill from it.

Impressed that the council waived most of the bill. Would be very impressed if the same happened for me!
I think Bayview you take the lead with a water bill for $10000.....

Also, jim1964, thanks for the link. Many of the sensors on the list seem to work by detecting a leak from appliances or flooding in the home. Looking for one that works on a principle of prolonged and excess water flow through the meter.
 
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