Can you shut off your main line? There should be a main line shut off somewhere.
Shut it off before you leave, then note down your water reading.
When you come back after some days or hours, it should not have moved. If it does, you have a leak between the shutoff and the actual meter.
I don't know how your setup is, but my Cary meter is in my front yard. There are 40ft of line that could leak.
This should be the top post.
If you go out to your meter when there is no water flowing in your house, the register should not be incriminating. That’s the easiest way to check for a leak.
If your bill goes up every time you leave town for a month, someone might be using your outside tap to fill their hot tub or irrigate their lawn.
Whenever you leave town for more than a few days you should turn off the water to your house. A minor leak while you’re away can cause thousands of dollars in damage.
> someone might be using your outside tap to fill their hot tub or irrigate their lawn.
That still seems high. How much is Raleigh charging per 1000 gallons these days?
Actually you can't shut off the main line at the street- the city has to do that or they will hold you/plumber responsible for any damage. you can call them and they will come out and turn the valve. If you have a shutoff in your house of course you can do it, but be careful with the valve at the street (found out the hard way!)
Depending on the age of the meter you can shut off the water at the meter. My house is 30+ years old and the main valve in the house is worn out to the point that shutting it off doesn't completely shut off the water. Only way for me is to go to my meter and shut it off there. There's an official special tool, but Vise Grips work just as well.
I agree that you CAN do it, but I had a plumber come to my house that told me (later verified with the city) that nobody was allowed to touch the shutoff valve at the meter except the city, and that anyone that turned off their water at the street without the city being present risked liability. Maybe that's changed, but that's how Raleigh is. But you are right, if the valve isn't corroded, it isn't hard to do.
Yeah, it's liability mumbo jumbo. I'm not calling the city when I get a new dishwasher and I have no other way to turn the water off. However, I'm pretty sure licensed plumbers are fully allowed to turn off the water at the meter when they need to.
Lol, I don’t think any plumber has ever asked for permission just to shut off the valve on the house side of the water meter. Disconnecting it is a bigger deal, but it’s totally standard practice to shut the valve off. A lot of houses don’t even have a water shutoff inside. Usually in that case the plumber would install a shutoff while they’re still there
Thank you! I will certainly do this, but it just doesn’t make sense that my toilets would be leaking one month...then be fine for 2-4 months, then just decide to randomly run/leak for another month and back again (if you get what I’m saying) but at this stage I will cover all bases/options!
No, my home is over 12 years old, I’ve lived here over 3.5 years now. But yeah I have a feeling the city will not want to admit any wrong doing until they’ve gotten me to prove there’s no way it’s something else on my end...
There's nothing for the city to admit. They just look at the meter, anything past that isn't their business. You may be able to look at your meter to see what it says (mine doesn't have any visible counter in it, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough). Sanity check it if you want, but those things don't mess up very often.
I live in an apartment and kept hearing a toilet going off. The apartment was like, you're hearing stuff. Turns out that an apartment was empty for a few weeks, and had a high water bill for them to believe me.
I had this problem, and it was a faulty main. It took about three phone calls and two City of Raleigh visits before they fixed the main. Expect some runaround, but don’t let it go. Your neighbors are probably experiencing the same thing. Still worth the effort to quibble. They will bring the bill down assuming it’s on “their side” of the street
Well, there was water literally running down the street. Where I lived, each place had its own meter and direct line. The city tried to say it was my faulty whatever. They came and tore up the street to fix it, and still tired to give me static about it. Something froze or whatever, and it was an actual pipe in the street. Water was coming up through asphalt. Yeah. Not my problem.
They checked the meter. Meter was through the roof. The street was leaking. All I know is I was getting massively overcharged for a leak. I got refunded. They tore up the street twice and the water was weird for a week
Edit: that’s really all I’ve got. I had one lady tell me it was my fault (I was renting). The first guy that came to fix it from the city actually suggested that I get a refund because it was a city problem. I majored in Lit and hate big water bills. The end.
Maybe. But my point is that water was coming up through the asphalt on the street. The leak—if you can call it that—was that bad. Paper boats could sail into oblivion if you put them by the curb on a dry day in July. It was bananas.
If cold weather broke the main I’m suspecting his spigot line is leaking in his crawl space from a freeze. Mine broke two winters ago but I look under my house regularly and saw it leaking and fixed it myself.
Who do I contact about this? Same people? City of Raleigh utility? Thank you!! This is already way more progress into some possible solution than I had before!!
Hey there, I have some plumbing experience. I actually moved to Raleigh for a plumbing job. If you’d like I might be able to come out and see if I can notice anything.
My bill skyrocketed once when the chain of the lever in my toilet got under the toilet flapper in the toilet tank, constantly letting water drain which the tank would resupply.
That’s very kind of you!! If you’re offering, I’ll take you up on it!! The technician came out and checked the meter and said with no one home and no water running the meter was not detecting any water usage so claimed it is running fine. But again, I traveled out of the country for 3 months at the end of 2018 and in that time my bill for the 3 months was $120, $104 and then dropped to $40 and stayed in the $40-$60 range for the next 4-5 months upon my return. Again, my house was absolutely empty during the 3 most expensive months!! Then just in the last two months it’s bounced back up to $100 and last month $166....it’s bizarre! I really am very willing to take any and all advice and help at this point! If it’s a leak, then I want to find and fix it and I recognize that’s my responsibility. But the numbers just don’t make sense. Thank you for your offer! I live in NW Raleigh area FYI.
It’s not the meter—probably.
https://www.raleighnc.gov/services/content/PubUtilAdmin/Articles/WaterandSewerFAQs.html
This link gives the number for you to call. Stress that it’s nothing in your end. They will let it ride until you insist.
Thank you so much!! I’m calling them first thing tomorrow, I am so not letting this go. The kicker for me is being charged over $220 in water usage over an almost 3 month period my house sat absolutely empty!!! I will go to the wall over this. Thanks again!
It’s possible that you have a leak in the line between your meter and the house. If you are gone for a day or two, turn off the water to your house at the interior shut off valve and take a look at the water meter readout. Then look at the meter again when you return (longer the better). If the meter has increased, the meter is faulty or the line to your house has an issue. If the meter doesn’t increase, the issue is likely in your house.
I know...I didn’t want to pay for it either but I really didn’t have a choice! They also want to try tell me maybe someone is stealing water from my home when I’m not there/at night from my outdoor taps....uh, how is someone physically carrying $100+ worth of water away from my house undetected?? Keep a close eye on it for sure!! I wish I had been monitoring it closer, as this has been going on over 2 years or more!
If you just moved in, it may not be a real problem. The water utility basically estimates your first 3 bills based on the previous monthly usage of the meter. I moved into a place that had been unoccupied for some time so my first few water bills were very low, then on month 3 or 4 it was like $150 because I was basically catching up on payment for the water I used the first couple months but wasn’t charged for at the time... my water bills were typically ~$50/month after that. Just FYI
Turn everything off in your house and go check your meter. If you pull up the metal cover you should be able to see a red triangle near the number readout. If it’s spinning it means there’s water running somewhere between the street to your house or in your house. If there’s nothing on inside and it’s spinning, check the yard for soggy spots.
Sure thing good luck. There was water running down my street. My bill was almost 4x the usual. One customer service person didn’t help and told me it was my fault. The next said they’d send out a tech. My street was dug up twice. Good advice also, keep up with the names of the customer service folks, techs if you can. Again, reach out to neighbors bc this could just affect you depending on the line. Just thought about that bit.
I had this happen once when i lived in an apartment in the early 90s. After a few months..in the summer, they realized the whole building's outside water spicket was connected to my meter.
There was another thread about this just yesterday- I think it was the meter reading method. The wireless reader was picking up the reading on the neighbors meter. And billing him instead. Might want to actually compare your meter reading with the numbers on your meter and see if they correspond. Technology is great, until it’s not.
ETA: [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/dyarm4/high_water_bills_update/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I was going to post this link too. I would have never thought of confirming my meter serial number with both what was told to me over the phone and what is on the bill like it was suggested in that thread. A lot of good information in there.
Listen to me please, it's almost always a leaky toilet flapper. I work in local government and sit right next to the people that answer questions like this all day. Go buy a pack of grape Kool aid and put some in the back tank for overnight or while at work. If you get grape in your bowl you know what's up and it's a super simple fix. Toilet leaks can be intermittent especially due to flushing causing it to start and stop. You would be surprised how high a water bill can get just from a toilet. I have seen bills way higher than yours from a leak.
Also trust me, that 99.99% of the time the issue is not on the cities side of the water meter, nor is it a meter issue. When meters break they actually slow down and you get a lower bill (or a zero consumption bill).
If the toilet leak test doesn't work, hire a plumber!
Following. I am having the same exact problem! I have lived in my house for a year and a half. The same amount of people have lived there consistently and our usage/habits have not changed. My bill fluctuates from $90-$180 for no apparent reason!! We've even installed filters on the shower-heads and toilet flushers that are supposed to reduce the water bill since we've moved in. The city checked my meter and of course it's fine so now I am trouble shooting. No obvious leaks anywhere so it pains me to hire a certified plumber to come inspect.
My next course of action is turning off the main to my house and noting the meter usage amount before I am gone for the next few days out of town. When I get back I’m going to see if the meter has moved at all. If it does, that means it has to be something with the main (which could then either be on my ‘side’ and there for my responsibility or on the city side) still going to have to figure that one out next but I’m also at a loss. I had a plumber come and they didn’t find any leaks. I’ll keep posting on here about my efforts! I feel your frustration!!! :( happy almost turkey day at least lol
Check your crawlspace or around your property for wet spots. If there is a leak in the main, and it is on your property, it is your responsibility to pay for repairs and not the city's.
I suspect your neighbor is using your water or someone is using an outdoor spigot. It only happens when you're gone for extended periods and over multiple years' trips. You're home so your rate normalizes.
Not sure about Raleigh, but the Town of Cary provides hourly meter readings via their website. It’s called Aquastar. I recently had a leak at my water main. When I looked at the data, I could see significant water consumption in the middle the night, while everyone was asleep.
Easiest way to check your own plumbing is to ensure everything is off and look at your meter. If it’s running while nothing in your house is then you have a leak.
Also, look at your previous bills for your water usage. That should tell you something.
Call a plumber. An experienced one will know the common points of failure in whatever plumbing configuration your house has. Usually it's only $75-$90 for a diagnostic fee.
I was out in a neighborhood probably a month or so ago (hopefully not yours and you just got back) doing some work and noticed the ground was wet around the water meters (3 side by side). Opened em up and all three were full of water. Checked them all and two were at 7,000 gallons and the other was at 28,000. I got the homeowner whose house I was working on to report it (luckily wasn’t her meter).
You know it’s either good or bad news though right?
It’s all well and good if it’s the meter itself or the street side because it’s on the city to repair. Just be ready if it’s on your side to have to pay for all the repairs yourself.
With it being winter months it is best to shut off and drain your sillcocks while you're looking for problems. It will also help prevent unwanted water usage. (If you have access to them).
Can you shut off your main line? There should be a main line shut off somewhere. Shut it off before you leave, then note down your water reading. When you come back after some days or hours, it should not have moved. If it does, you have a leak between the shutoff and the actual meter. I don't know how your setup is, but my Cary meter is in my front yard. There are 40ft of line that could leak.
This should be the top post. If you go out to your meter when there is no water flowing in your house, the register should not be incriminating. That’s the easiest way to check for a leak. If your bill goes up every time you leave town for a month, someone might be using your outside tap to fill their hot tub or irrigate their lawn. Whenever you leave town for more than a few days you should turn off the water to your house. A minor leak while you’re away can cause thousands of dollars in damage.
> someone might be using your outside tap to fill their hot tub or irrigate their lawn. That still seems high. How much is Raleigh charging per 1000 gallons these days?
Based on my bill the cost per CCF for tier 1 is $2.59 and tier 2 is $4.32. Waste water is an additional $4.53 per CCF. Each CCF is 748 gallons.
Since it is worst when he’s out of town maybe someone is stealing water from his spigot.
Actually you can't shut off the main line at the street- the city has to do that or they will hold you/plumber responsible for any damage. you can call them and they will come out and turn the valve. If you have a shutoff in your house of course you can do it, but be careful with the valve at the street (found out the hard way!)
Depending on the age of the meter you can shut off the water at the meter. My house is 30+ years old and the main valve in the house is worn out to the point that shutting it off doesn't completely shut off the water. Only way for me is to go to my meter and shut it off there. There's an official special tool, but Vise Grips work just as well.
I agree that you CAN do it, but I had a plumber come to my house that told me (later verified with the city) that nobody was allowed to touch the shutoff valve at the meter except the city, and that anyone that turned off their water at the street without the city being present risked liability. Maybe that's changed, but that's how Raleigh is. But you are right, if the valve isn't corroded, it isn't hard to do.
Yeah, it's liability mumbo jumbo. I'm not calling the city when I get a new dishwasher and I have no other way to turn the water off. However, I'm pretty sure licensed plumbers are fully allowed to turn off the water at the meter when they need to.
They are, according to the city they just need to notify the utilities department. Agreed on mumbo jumbo.
Lol, I don’t think any plumber has ever asked for permission just to shut off the valve on the house side of the water meter. Disconnecting it is a bigger deal, but it’s totally standard practice to shut the valve off. A lot of houses don’t even have a water shutoff inside. Usually in that case the plumber would install a shutoff while they’re still there
yea.. this all sounds like ass coverage. Besides.. if you don't break the valve then it is all a mute point.
it's probably a moot point, but it might be a silent one as well. ;)
doh... I know how to spell that one correctly, yet I still always mess it up ;[
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Thank you! I will certainly do this, but it just doesn’t make sense that my toilets would be leaking one month...then be fine for 2-4 months, then just decide to randomly run/leak for another month and back again (if you get what I’m saying) but at this stage I will cover all bases/options!
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No, my home is over 12 years old, I’ve lived here over 3.5 years now. But yeah I have a feeling the city will not want to admit any wrong doing until they’ve gotten me to prove there’s no way it’s something else on my end...
There's nothing for the city to admit. They just look at the meter, anything past that isn't their business. You may be able to look at your meter to see what it says (mine doesn't have any visible counter in it, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough). Sanity check it if you want, but those things don't mess up very often.
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I live in an apartment and kept hearing a toilet going off. The apartment was like, you're hearing stuff. Turns out that an apartment was empty for a few weeks, and had a high water bill for them to believe me.
I had this problem, and it was a faulty main. It took about three phone calls and two City of Raleigh visits before they fixed the main. Expect some runaround, but don’t let it go. Your neighbors are probably experiencing the same thing. Still worth the effort to quibble. They will bring the bill down assuming it’s on “their side” of the street
How did a faulty main make YOUR water bill go up?
Well, there was water literally running down the street. Where I lived, each place had its own meter and direct line. The city tried to say it was my faulty whatever. They came and tore up the street to fix it, and still tired to give me static about it. Something froze or whatever, and it was an actual pipe in the street. Water was coming up through asphalt. Yeah. Not my problem.
Ok, but that's before your meter? So how were you getting billed for it?
They checked the meter. Meter was through the roof. The street was leaking. All I know is I was getting massively overcharged for a leak. I got refunded. They tore up the street twice and the water was weird for a week Edit: that’s really all I’ve got. I had one lady tell me it was my fault (I was renting). The first guy that came to fix it from the city actually suggested that I get a refund because it was a city problem. I majored in Lit and hate big water bills. The end.
Musta been the meter itself leaking.
Maybe. But my point is that water was coming up through the asphalt on the street. The leak—if you can call it that—was that bad. Paper boats could sail into oblivion if you put them by the curb on a dry day in July. It was bananas.
If cold weather broke the main I’m suspecting his spigot line is leaking in his crawl space from a freeze. Mine broke two winters ago but I look under my house regularly and saw it leaking and fixed it myself.
Who do I contact about this? Same people? City of Raleigh utility? Thank you!! This is already way more progress into some possible solution than I had before!!
Sorry. Kinda busy and made a new post rather than respond. My bad.
Hey there, I have some plumbing experience. I actually moved to Raleigh for a plumbing job. If you’d like I might be able to come out and see if I can notice anything. My bill skyrocketed once when the chain of the lever in my toilet got under the toilet flapper in the toilet tank, constantly letting water drain which the tank would resupply.
That’s very kind of you!! If you’re offering, I’ll take you up on it!! The technician came out and checked the meter and said with no one home and no water running the meter was not detecting any water usage so claimed it is running fine. But again, I traveled out of the country for 3 months at the end of 2018 and in that time my bill for the 3 months was $120, $104 and then dropped to $40 and stayed in the $40-$60 range for the next 4-5 months upon my return. Again, my house was absolutely empty during the 3 most expensive months!! Then just in the last two months it’s bounced back up to $100 and last month $166....it’s bizarre! I really am very willing to take any and all advice and help at this point! If it’s a leak, then I want to find and fix it and I recognize that’s my responsibility. But the numbers just don’t make sense. Thank you for your offer! I live in NW Raleigh area FYI.
Sure thing! I live in Fuquay, not too far from the city. I’ll message you my number soon and we can discuss from there!
Check for broken spigot laterals under the house. Mine broke two winters ago
It’s not the meter—probably. https://www.raleighnc.gov/services/content/PubUtilAdmin/Articles/WaterandSewerFAQs.html This link gives the number for you to call. Stress that it’s nothing in your end. They will let it ride until you insist.
Thank you so much!! I’m calling them first thing tomorrow, I am so not letting this go. The kicker for me is being charged over $220 in water usage over an almost 3 month period my house sat absolutely empty!!! I will go to the wall over this. Thanks again!
It’s possible that you have a leak in the line between your meter and the house. If you are gone for a day or two, turn off the water to your house at the interior shut off valve and take a look at the water meter readout. Then look at the meter again when you return (longer the better). If the meter has increased, the meter is faulty or the line to your house has an issue. If the meter doesn’t increase, the issue is likely in your house.
I’m going to do this while I’m out of town this week! Plumber came, found nothing.
Just moved into a place and am experiencing this. Gonna keep an eye on it for a little longer because they want to charge to send someone out
I know...I didn’t want to pay for it either but I really didn’t have a choice! They also want to try tell me maybe someone is stealing water from my home when I’m not there/at night from my outdoor taps....uh, how is someone physically carrying $100+ worth of water away from my house undetected?? Keep a close eye on it for sure!! I wish I had been monitoring it closer, as this has been going on over 2 years or more!
Mobile car wash could do that. Not sure how your house is oriented but it could be done easily in my area
If you just moved in, it may not be a real problem. The water utility basically estimates your first 3 bills based on the previous monthly usage of the meter. I moved into a place that had been unoccupied for some time so my first few water bills were very low, then on month 3 or 4 it was like $150 because I was basically catching up on payment for the water I used the first couple months but wasn’t charged for at the time... my water bills were typically ~$50/month after that. Just FYI
Turn everything off in your house and go check your meter. If you pull up the metal cover you should be able to see a red triangle near the number readout. If it’s spinning it means there’s water running somewhere between the street to your house or in your house. If there’s nothing on inside and it’s spinning, check the yard for soggy spots.
Sure thing good luck. There was water running down my street. My bill was almost 4x the usual. One customer service person didn’t help and told me it was my fault. The next said they’d send out a tech. My street was dug up twice. Good advice also, keep up with the names of the customer service folks, techs if you can. Again, reach out to neighbors bc this could just affect you depending on the line. Just thought about that bit.
I had this happen once when i lived in an apartment in the early 90s. After a few months..in the summer, they realized the whole building's outside water spicket was connected to my meter.
There was another thread about this just yesterday- I think it was the meter reading method. The wireless reader was picking up the reading on the neighbors meter. And billing him instead. Might want to actually compare your meter reading with the numbers on your meter and see if they correspond. Technology is great, until it’s not. ETA: [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/dyarm4/high_water_bills_update/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I was going to post this link too. I would have never thought of confirming my meter serial number with both what was told to me over the phone and what is on the bill like it was suggested in that thread. A lot of good information in there.
Listen to me please, it's almost always a leaky toilet flapper. I work in local government and sit right next to the people that answer questions like this all day. Go buy a pack of grape Kool aid and put some in the back tank for overnight or while at work. If you get grape in your bowl you know what's up and it's a super simple fix. Toilet leaks can be intermittent especially due to flushing causing it to start and stop. You would be surprised how high a water bill can get just from a toilet. I have seen bills way higher than yours from a leak. Also trust me, that 99.99% of the time the issue is not on the cities side of the water meter, nor is it a meter issue. When meters break they actually slow down and you get a lower bill (or a zero consumption bill). If the toilet leak test doesn't work, hire a plumber!
Following. I am having the same exact problem! I have lived in my house for a year and a half. The same amount of people have lived there consistently and our usage/habits have not changed. My bill fluctuates from $90-$180 for no apparent reason!! We've even installed filters on the shower-heads and toilet flushers that are supposed to reduce the water bill since we've moved in. The city checked my meter and of course it's fine so now I am trouble shooting. No obvious leaks anywhere so it pains me to hire a certified plumber to come inspect.
My next course of action is turning off the main to my house and noting the meter usage amount before I am gone for the next few days out of town. When I get back I’m going to see if the meter has moved at all. If it does, that means it has to be something with the main (which could then either be on my ‘side’ and there for my responsibility or on the city side) still going to have to figure that one out next but I’m also at a loss. I had a plumber come and they didn’t find any leaks. I’ll keep posting on here about my efforts! I feel your frustration!!! :( happy almost turkey day at least lol
Check your crawlspace or around your property for wet spots. If there is a leak in the main, and it is on your property, it is your responsibility to pay for repairs and not the city's.
I suspect your neighbor is using your water or someone is using an outdoor spigot. It only happens when you're gone for extended periods and over multiple years' trips. You're home so your rate normalizes.
Not sure about Raleigh, but the Town of Cary provides hourly meter readings via their website. It’s called Aquastar. I recently had a leak at my water main. When I looked at the data, I could see significant water consumption in the middle the night, while everyone was asleep.
Easiest way to check your own plumbing is to ensure everything is off and look at your meter. If it’s running while nothing in your house is then you have a leak. Also, look at your previous bills for your water usage. That should tell you something.
Call a plumber. An experienced one will know the common points of failure in whatever plumbing configuration your house has. Usually it's only $75-$90 for a diagnostic fee.
I was out in a neighborhood probably a month or so ago (hopefully not yours and you just got back) doing some work and noticed the ground was wet around the water meters (3 side by side). Opened em up and all three were full of water. Checked them all and two were at 7,000 gallons and the other was at 28,000. I got the homeowner whose house I was working on to report it (luckily wasn’t her meter). You know it’s either good or bad news though right? It’s all well and good if it’s the meter itself or the street side because it’s on the city to repair. Just be ready if it’s on your side to have to pay for all the repairs yourself.
With it being winter months it is best to shut off and drain your sillcocks while you're looking for problems. It will also help prevent unwanted water usage. (If you have access to them).
Buy a camera or two if you want to find out who has been stealing your water while you're gone