DAVID ALEXANDER wrote:
Last week, when I got my water bill, it was a whopping $185.00. On checking
my water meter, it was spinning at the rate of about 3 gallons per minute.
I checked for anything leaking in the house and didn't find anything. The
same for the outside faucets. There's no evidence of water leaks outside,
no damp spots, etc.

My plumber came out and checked everything, but couldn't come up with
anything. I called the city water folks and one of them came out and looked
all around, even using a listening device they have. He couldn't find
anything, either, although he said the sounds were louder on the end of the
house where the septic tank and an outside faucet are located.

I haven't been able to locate the valve next to the house that turns off all
of the water, so I went home after the city water guy left, determined to
dig up my yard if needed. I went to turn off the water so we wouldn't waste
any more, and found that the meter was no longer running! I couldn't
believe it.


My parents' house is vacant, and it was running 10s of thousands of
gallons per month. At first I suspected an error from the meter to the
electronic meter reader. Nope! Then I thought someone was stealing
water from the hose so I shut off the water main to the house. Another
high bill! So I have had the meter replaced (free) and old one tested
(about $40 if no error found). However, I don't know how they could
test such a device accurately, given how weird the problem is. In
fact, I have not heard back from them in 4 monthes. I subsequently
learned that my water co is running unusually high pressure in my area.
Don't know if this would throw out a meter. GET YOUR METER REPLACED!


I called the city guy and told him that the meter had stopped, and he could
hardly believe it. We both know a leak doesn't plug itself. He had no
suggestions. I was just grateful that it had stopped.

I kept an eye on the meter for a couple of hours and it didn't budge.
However, a few hours later, just before I went to bed, I decided to check it
again and, sure enough, it was running again for no reason.

Any suggestions or analysis would be appreciated.

David Alexander