neighbor's water bill/green economy question

[haapai]

After sleeping on it, a negligent or overwhelmed landlord/owner seems quite likely. The bill could be on auto-pay, so a bad flapper could be the culprit. It's also possible that the location of the house (and the effect of 5000 gallons of water being spilled) makes it so damp that a leaky pipe could go undetected.

Here's hoping that the person picking up the mail sees the bill and immediately flips the valve on the main pipe.

[haapai]

I got curious and found the free, publicly available, and anonymously requested data that I found last time. 

The account is new and the last physical read was over two and a half months ago.  No usage was estimated on the first bill or the second.  The third bill (the one that I saw) was also an estimate but effectively covered two months of estimated usage. 

In other words, nobody knows how much water is actually going through the meter at this house they're just guessing based on average use, which is identical to my own. 

I don't know why they are estimating.  I wonder if this is an indication that the electricity has been switched off. 

I'm sorta embarrassed that I jumped to conclusions.  If I was going to snoop their bill, I should have at least been snoopy enough to notice that it was estimated.  OTOH, I'm quite relieved that I didn't go speculating away to my neighbors. 

ETA:  Thanks for being there for me while I thought this out.  I'm still embarrassed by my tendency to think the worst, but having you guys as listeners kept me from doing far more harmful things. 

[Deleted]

I had a dear friend from Canada who found that growing hydroponically eliminated so many problems like mold/fungus etc.  Most of his very large operation was devoted to organic vegetables that commanded high prices at the local farmers markets and upscale restaurants.  His other crop also commanded a premium price because of his dependable production and consistent quality.  

[taz157]

Sept 4, 2019 16:23:18 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 4, 2019 15:26:15 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

I heard someone in AZ talking about water usage.  The neighbors bill suddenly went up.  After searching it out, the flapper in the toilet was old and leaking.  Not enough to flush the toilet but enough to run up the water usage.

About ten years ago, I received a letter form MLGW (Memphis light, Gas, and Water) advising me they notice my water usage had gone up and out of the norm from past years. They told me to look for leaks, etc. Turns out, as you noted above, the flapper in the toilet was old and the water slowly but always running.

I was impressed the utility company took the time to notify me. Kudos to them.

My dad’s utility company notified when his water usage increased in his second home. He was out of state at his first home at the time. He came back to the second home to a flooded home. There was a leak coming from the toilet line in his bathroom I believe. I think they worked with him on the resulting bill too. It’s been 20+ years so details are sketchy.

[TheOtherMe]

My small town city clerk called me when my water bill was high.  It was because I was watering new sod.  The bill was fine. 

[raeoflyte]

I pay the water for my rental and I have it set to auto pay.  I noticed it was getting high, but I drove by and could see they were really putting in effort into the lawn and thought it was that.  Then it got higher, but mine at home did too and I assumed rates were just creeping up and they have 5 of them in the house, so would use more than the amount I had budgeted for us.  Then it really got high and I had the property manager take a look.  One of the toilets had an issue.  I hopefully won't make that mistake again and will check it out earlier.