Water consumption help

Because even if I catch them in the act the water company still holds me responsible for the cost. All I could do is take them to civil court and waste more time and money on money I'll never see back. At least this way I can still catch them trying and report my findings/evidence to local law enforcement and let them deal with it .

 

Not to mention a restraining order on them too.

Tough to prove your $$ damages but in small claims in MA you have to sue for a dollar amount. However, if you win there is a payment meeting about 4 weeks later and if you can identify property of theirs such as TV, stereo, vehicles, they may be seized in lieu of money. Ask me how I know haha

 

I have recently discovered it is seldom that easy...

 

Generally it is

 

Not a good idea. If the OP has a boiler, it will need to auto-feed itself.


The better idea is to turn off the bibs from the inside.

 

If possible, and as indicated above, looks like he can.

Here in SoCal, nobody has a basement, and the bibs don't have separate shutoffs. There's the meter, service entrance (generally in the front or side yard, so not protected), and that's it.

 

OP, the leak detector on the meter is usually very sensitive, it does not take a lot of water to move it, 12 gallons in a day is not a lot of water, are you absolutely sure nothing is leaking?

 

OTOH, 12 gallons a day is not going to run his bill from $35 to $115/mo.

My usage averages 4-6 HCF (about 3,000-5,000 gallons) per month.
That's about 100-170 gallons a day for the two of us showering, laundry, and cooking (no yard to water).
But my bill is always around $85.
That's because of all of the things itemized on my bill, the actual water usage is only about $5. Everything else is sewer, garbage, recycling fees, etc... I could shut my service off and still pay $80.

 

Yeah you have a point there

 

But if the neighbor is stealing water, it's not going to be consistent day to day.
12 gallons is 3 trips with a "light" 5 gallon bucket... good for a few toilet flushes, load of dishes, couple of meals, and some hand-washing.

 

Sounds like the OP has tweeks living next door

 

If the neighbors are the cause of your water loss, that's just low. Kind of makes me ashamed we have those people in our country. I'll feel bad though if it turns out to be a leak or something; and we were all pointing fingers Who knows though!

OP: Hope you get your problem fixed so your bill goes down, which equals a higher Tacoma-mod budget

 

Just to give an update so far. No where near billing cycle end but I have consistently watched my meter and when I leave in the morning I check. When I come home check. The most I have seen is 2 gal un accounted for. And from talking with my dad ,Evidently my hot water heater can evaporate water plus ice maker. So I think I have found my issue.

I also alerted other neighbors of what has happened and they should keep an eye out. I've went under the house three times and no wet spots. ( No rain) the water company is coming out Tuesday instead of tomorrow ( holiday) to run a leak check.

I think everything is going to be ok from here on out. Good thing is if they do find a leak my brother is in town and is a licensed plumber. So he can earn some dough if they find anything. But I feel if I had a leak even a small leak there should be more than two gallons un accounted for.

 

Check your toilets too, sometimes the flapper could be leaking just a little, if the toilet starts to run and you have not flushed it, your flapper could be the cause.

 

My bill is about that high, but I have a yard to water.

One thing about "catching them in the act" is that someone who can steal water when you are away can also set fire to your dwelling when you are away.

If you shut off the source, such as with the water shut offs, they may realize their activity has been detected, but they don't yet know that you have fingered them specifically.

I had a neighbor with a substance issue. One day I came home to find that someone had taken one (1) water bottle out of a case that had been delivered that day. Hmmm...they didn't take all of it. But they took one.

My solution was to wave to him every day, get to know his parents, etc. My goal is for him to tell his "customers" "No, he's cool, don't mess with his house."

One morning I came out to see him being loaded into the back of a police car. Probation violation I think.

But no one has messed with my house while I was gone.

If someone is only taking water, and not breaking in and taking stuff, they might just be that poor.

 

Read the first post. They have already stolen power using extension cords when their power was shut off.

 

Again, while it's very plausible that it's the same people, stopping theft is a lower level conflict than accusing people. Never underestimate the desperate.

It obviously would have been better had they come and asked to buy some water. But I also think about all the places I've been where people don't have clean water, and they have to share a communal well or filtration equipment.

 

I understand the poor thing. And I could understand feeling embarrassed or humiliated to ask or to mention. I can also understand them thinking, " he has a good job, plenty of money, and won't even miss it." But and it's a big but. Is it is stealing. If they came to me I would probably just go pay their water bill. And when the water company is out here I plan to ask them the status of my neighbors water if they can tell. But I do have bills and I do have things I save money on so in 30 years from now I can retire and not have to really on anyone. Or be able to provide for my family.

 

Could the meter be bad?

 

I don't even leave handles on my outside spigots. I opt for heading off as much of any kind of this nonsense as possible in a proactive way. It's not that I don't trust people nowadays..................OK THAT'S A LIE!!!! I want to but stupid ruins it for everyone else. It's always better to ask for permission than forgiveness. Whoever started that better to ask for forgiveness shit is a fool and a thief. Good luck with your issue OP. Lock down what is yours. Big logic fail problem for people nowadays is that they are too proud to ask for help but not proud enough not to take what isn't theirs. Bullshit nonthinking bunch of crap.