You are not tied to the hydrant, unless you have a 6" meter. meters for homes run 3/4 inch.
I would recommend verifying the meter reading, maybe every day for a couple of weeks. Write down the reading at the same time every day and see what you are usually using. If someone is stealing water, and it happens, that should tell you. If contractors are getting water from a hydrant, they may be getting water from you too.
Also, water meters usually have a leak detector. at some point when you are not using any water, dishwasher off, washing machine off, check the meter. Most leak detectors are a small red or blue star or triangle that will rotate back and forth to show a leak.
CF

 

What he said right there. ^^^

 

If you are the do it self type install a separate water meter between your house and the city meter .also it I'd easy to track your usage by checking your meter daily or every other day

 

If you do have a older meeter and it does have a blue or red triangle/star you will need to watch it for a little while (5-10minutes) and don't take your eyes off of it. It might only move a little.

 

Leaks don't always occur inside the home. Check the ground from the meter to the entry point of the house.

 

This graphic can help put a "small" leak into perspective too:

 

Holy water consumption, Batman!

At our last house, on city water, our bill was very consistent. Then it started going north. Next month a little more. Next month, the same. Then an astronomical increase. Turned out there was a leak from the main near the house, nothing we could see unless the ground was dug up. The city fixed it and retroactively adjusted the bill.

 

You're lucky they fixed it for you. We have struggled with water leaks since we moved into our house 2 years ago. I have probably fixed the line 5 or 6 times. We have really rocky soil and the water lines weren't put in correctly to begin with. It's going to be an expensive redo though, as we are on a private drive, and the meter is around 800 Ft from the house.

 

Sounds like he filled his pool with your hos while you were sleeping

 

I worked in the business, still do but only deal with poop now.

When I was doing taps every so often we put in a sneaky tap. We would go by in the middle of the night and fill up tanker trucks on unsuspecting users dimes. Oh we had a time!

All kidding aside, it could be several things.
A note of clarification, if there is a leak on a main you shouldn't be charged for it. They can only charge you for what comes through the meter.
Find out when your meter is being read and coordinate reading it the same day they read it. Read it every day for a while and track your water usage, if you don't document these things you have no evidence. It could be the meter reader making an error....but if you don't document it.....sorry bout your luck.

I have worked in this business for over 30 years now. If I had a water meter, I wouldn't trust anyone else to read it.. If you have outside faucets, take the handles off of them. People who steal water can steal enough to fill 6 swimming pools in a month. Don't leave hoses laying around either. Read your meter every day....but not when everyone will see you.

If you have that big a leak, a little searching will find it. The little red dial should tell you quick if you have flappers leaking, or anything else.

 

Just had a thought.....MAYBE the neighbors poll is leaking! They are keeping it topped off on your dime.

 

Did you look at the meter and determine you have a water leak? A plumber can't find a leak that isn't there....well technically he can if he is crooked.
Look for wet spots in the yard. Water running out of foundation drains around the house.....water anywhere. A water leak seeks the path of least resistance, it doesn't always come up along the ditch line
How deep is your line? Do you know the point of entry? Basement or crawlspace?

I can talk you through it somewhat.

Have you looked at the low water dial indicator on your meter yet? If it ain't turning, you don't have a significant leak. A couple hundred dollar leak should make the low water dial look like a ceiling fan on high.

Or call a plumber.

 

Did you jiggle the handle?

There have been several stories about this in the news in recent years and then the city does something. Maybe you should call channel 9.

 

Did you ever look at the meter to see if the leak indicator is turning? If it is turning, then you have a leak. Find your main shutoff valve, should be before your pressure regulator where the line comes into the house. Turn the valve off, and go check the meter again. If it stopped turning, the leak is in your house somewhere, if it is still turning, its somewhere in the line between the meter and your house.

 

If you put in a second meter (which will be expensive--meters on the scale of several hundred dollars or more), it needs to be first in line before anything else in the house. Before any valves or devices using water. So if that shut off valve is the first thing in the house that "uses" water, then that would be ok. Ideally, the best place to install a second meter is immediately behind the City's meter to capture the full length of your line. In my opinion, it's overkill to put another meter in. Meters can fail, but do so rarely. In my experience, it is almost always an issue within the homeowner's system.

 

I had a steadily increasing bill a few years ago and turned out to be my pressure reducer leaking. Luckily my highest bill was $95.

 

An incorrectly set height on a toilet float can eat your lunch quickly as well.

We had 1 set just a hair too high. Took me forever to track it down. It was more than a drip which I would have heard and less than a flow which would have flushed the toilet. Just. Steady trickle. It was the last thing I checked when I got a high bill once.

 

Do you have a dog or cat with access to a toilet......no laughing, I'm serious.

If your meter isn't registering a leak, you don't have a leak. There is no such thing as an intermittent leak.
There is water stealing.
Pets flushing comodes.
Misread meter.
Those are now your options.

 

Do you have a dog or cat with access to a toilet......no laughing, I'm serious.

I chuckled, but then.....

 

I was at a loss as to how the "leak detector" could work. Google is a good fella.

 

The lady in that video says otherwise! Haha, I know nothing about this stuff but couldn't but point this out.

Speaking about water heaters bursting @11B CIB , one of my coworkers had the same thing happen but it had only been filling up his crawlspace for about 10 days. The mold was so bad they had to get the entire first floor hardwood replaced. Older home and the mold got all the way through; quite the insurance claim!

Fortunately all the crawl space vents were open and the water was draining out and/absorbing into the ground fast enough. It wasn't a massive leak, but no leak is a good one

 

I was at a loss as to how the "leak detector" could work. Google is a good fella.

Dear lord that ladies voice is annoying

 

Thank you! I wasn't the only one that thought I was back in K4 being taught how to tie my shoes!

 

So this was the reading this morning about 10AM.

View attachment 130765

If I am reading this correctly, we used ~.385 cubic feet (2.88 gallons) since 2:30PM yesterday. Is that correct? If so, is that a lot??

You actually used 2.8798 gallons by my calculations. Humor me....I went through a lot to develop these mad math skills

 

2.88g isn't much at all. That's equivalent to flushing the toilet twice.

If your main valve has been off since 2:30pm yesterday, you have a very small leak somewhere between the meter and that valve. (Could even be leaking past the seals in that valve.)

 

I would think it would be more than 2.88 gallons unless no one showered, took a bath or washed cloths or dishes.

quick google search came up with this.

"The average family's indoor water usage is about 50 gallons of water per person per day."

so the 288 maybe right.

 

The reading at 10:00 am was 278,569.725cf as shown in the picture. If you used 0.385 cf, the reading should have been 278,569.240 cf at 2:30pm the day before. To have used 38.5 cf, the 2:30 pm reading would have been 278,531.225. I'm assuming you recorded the 2:30pm reading?

If it's 2.88 gal, that's likely a weeping toilet flapper as others have mentioned. That's a slow enough leak that you might not notice it over ~20 hours (1 pint an hour).

 

You two just have to quite hiding from the 7 mth old in the shower to get a break. all kidding aside I know we use way more water now with our two toddlers with all the extra dishes and clothes to be washed not sure how much though since I am on a well never tracked it.

 

If you have a 30k gal/month leak, you should see it on the surface somewhere, or under the house. That's a h3ll of a lot of water.

Another thought...has the water company actually been reading your meter over the past few months or are they estimating? If they've been estimating low, the big bill may be a 'catch-up.' This shouldn't be the issue if you have an electronic meter.