Water Bill from LADWP is 5 to 7 Times Normal Rate

[Jordan F.]

Hello,

Our water bill is normally $600-800 for a 10 unit building every two months.  The last biill came in at around $4,000 and we can't figure out why.  We checked all of the units, the crawlspace, the basement/water heater, and the sprinkler heads.  One running toilet was found, but that wouldn't have caused such an increase on its own.  We also had LADWP come out and inspect the meters and they said that they were working normally.  Now I'm wondering what to do next.  The only thing that occurs to me is to check the pipe under the sidewalk that goes from the meter to our shutoff valve.  Thanks.

[Jeff S.]

We had a similar problem with a four-unit property, @Jordan F., though not as bad as yours.  Our bill went from around $180 per billing cycle to over $400 per billing cycle.

First, check the sidewalk pipe as you suggested. You can do this by turning the shutoff valves off and watching to see if your water meter still runs. Notify your tenants first, of course.

Second, does your property have any hose bibs? Even in the laundry room? Tenants and neighbors can use these to wash their cars. We sold before we solved our problem, but this was my chief suspicion. My next option was to remove these.

Don’t forget to check your irrigation lines and valves as well, if you have any.