If my water bill is high does it mean I have a water leak?

13 Sep 2023

by Brett Mulhall

However common "bill shock" is these days we expect it to be related to energy or gas consumption. While other utilities continue to hand down price rises, we have yet to see a large price spike in the cost of water. With the oncoming El Niño event and dam levels dropping we are wondering if water might be the next in line for price hikes.

If your household water bill has spiked as it did for one of our recent customers it doesn't necessarily mean that you've got a water leak, but it is unlikely because of rising water prices and should be addressed.

In this case, our customer's bill was 4 times its normal amount which does not mean 4 times the amount of water consumed. A substantial amount of their bill was excess usage at a higher price than the base price. At the time of writing Brisbane City water supply via Urban Utilities has an excess water rate of $1.742 per kilo-litre - that's about double the standard supply rate.

At their website, https://urbanutilities.com.au/residential/accounts-and-billing/water-and-sewerage-charges-2023-2024, the latest water supply rates are published:
Tier 1 Usage 2023-2024 (up to 822L per day) $0.838
Tier 2 Usage 2023-2024 (over 822L per day) $1.742

With this explained to the customer, there was still concern and we went to see the property.

While not a full water usage audit, one of our experienced plumbers attended and inspected the property for potential leaks or reasons for excess usage and what he found might surprise you. Before we tell you what he found, here are just a few things that were checked.
Slow leaking toilet seals
A slow leak in a toilet can amount to a lot of water over the course of a water bill cycle and so toilets should not be left leaking or worse still flushing.
Leaking garden taps
A leaking garden tap, particularly one out of sight can be the reason that a lot of water is wasted.
Leaking internal taps
Something as innocuous as a slow drip in the laundry tub could be using a lot of water.
Green patch or soft lawn between house and the water meter / mains tap
Something to be suspicious of when looking for water leaks is an excessive green patch of grass or soft ground at the front of the house. This would suggest that there might be a mains supply water leak in the front yard.
The list goes on and on depending on there being water chillers, filter taps, dogs, pools, car or bike washing, etc.

One of the best means to know if you have a water leak.
With everything in the property turned off, record the number on the water meter, then watch or return some hours later to see if the meter has moved. In the worse case scenario with everything checked and this measurement showing usage of water with everything turned off, you could worry that there is a leak in a wall or under the house. Worse still if your house is on a concrete slab.

So what did our plumber find was the water leak?
We did not include it in the list above, but the failure of a washing machine hose had led to not-so-slow constant water leak. Hidden behind the washing machine, the property owner did not turn off the washing machine supply hose between washing and thus the leak had resulted in a constant waste of water. As it happened, the water was not noticed for the "fall" of the laundry floor and the obscured floor drain. The water was able to leak and drain away without being found for upwards of 3 months!

Identified and fixed, we doubled down on the replacement of both washing machine hoses, as the aged based failure of one hose reasoned that the other might soon fail too.

Should you have a water rates bill that is much higher than usual, it might not be the result of washing the car too often, there could be a hidden water leak somewhere on your property that needs attending.

If you do want your high water usage looked at then call on Aptus Plumbing and Gas, 5 star rated with 400+ reviews. With a highly qualified team of plumbers we offer plumbing and gas services across all of Brisbane and Moreton regional shire.

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