my water meter says we have used 220kl in a month

[jenniew]

Hi

my usual water usage is around 30kl a month (before the water restrictions), my water meter is older than 16 years (how long I've lived here) and we have no detectable leaks on the property, I have been getting the gardener to read it because of Jhb council firing the meter readers, at the end of last month we had used 22kl, now I'm getting a reading that says 218kl, which is insane, and we cant find any leaks or wet patches. it shows 18KL between Friday and today - just 4 days.

do any of you clever people know what I should do? I'm worried that if I approach the council they will expect me to pay for this usage - presumably from a faulty meter - before they replace the meter.. at the current inflated prices that's a lot of money.

 

[P924]

A faulty meter will never over read. You have a leak.

 

[thehuman]

All taps closed does it tick over ?
If so somewhere there a leak

 

[supersunbird]

All taps closed does it tick over ?
If so somewhere there a leak

Agree, ensure all taps and such closed, and if the meter is moving...

 

[KleinBoontjie]

You perhaps have a swimming pool (or your neighbours swimming pool, that looks fuller??)

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/851646-Wie-nie-wil-hoor-nie-moet-maar-voel?highlight=hoor+moet+voel

 

[Stokstert]

I also had a water leak of 80 Kl within four days without showing anywhere above ground. My insurance paid for the installation of new pipes above ground and R1800 for the lost water as well.
Close all taps and listen at different positions using a screwdriver as stethoscope, you might hear the leak.

 

[jenniew]

I am pretty sure there is not a leak, I got my gardener to take a reading at noon, then again at 13:30, we made sure we did not open any taps in the interim, the meter did not move at all.

 

[jenniew]

@p924 that is an interesting statement. how sure are you?

 

[P924]

@p924 that is an interesting statement. how sure are you?

Pretty sure.

 

[Geoff.D]

I am pretty sure there is not a leak, I got my gardener to take a reading at noon, then again at 13:30, we made sure we did not open any taps in the interim, the meter did not move at all.

Have you a record of the meter readings off your account maybe? Do you take readings on a regular basis yourself or do you leave it to the Council to do?

I have found depending on the meter you have, they are pretty clueless of how to take the readings and document them properly. ( In our area).

The reading is probably supposed to be 22 kL

Up to 30 kL is considered "normal" for a household of 4.

Check the meter yourself. Mine has the readings in black numerals up to the decimal point. Below the point the reading is in "RED"

You could be the victim of some sort of backlash from the meter readers deliberately recording the wrong values, or the new readers have not been shown how to read the meters properly.

 

[maumau]

When last did you have an actual reading i.e. not an estimate?

 

[jenniew]

I used to read it a few years back as they kept making high estimates. the last actual on my bill was the end of July for 1690, when we read it on 4 October it was 1692 plus another 3 digits, I have them written down. on Friday 28th October it was 1906 plus the extra digits, today it is 1924.

but maybe both my son and gardener got it wrong, so I will go and look myself.

 

[MickZA]

Badly printed numerals on the meter maybe, 6 was actually an 8?

 

[Geoff.D]

Badly printed numerals on the meter maybe, 6 was actually an 8?

Possible! Not bad numerals, just a lazy reader not cleaning off the glass before taking the reading.

 

[maumau]

Possible! Not bad numerals, just a lazy reader not cleaning off the glass before taking the reading.

yep.