NEED HELP!! ASAP! WATER ISSUE, $12500 water bill within 3 month

[Amy Lu]

We have three water bills from the Water Department, Malden, MA. It shows water usage as follows:

1. The water usage from 10/15/2015-11/15/2015 (32 days) 16446 c.f., $3468.70

2. The water usage from 11/15/2015-12/15/2015 (29 days) 22574 c.f., $5016.01

3. The water usage from 12/15/15-1/15/16 (30 days) 18,100 c.f., around $4000.00

It costs us about $12500 for the three month's water bill.

We attended the meeting of Public Works Commission at 2/9/2016. We told the commission members that the water meter had problems. But they insisted on that there were water leaks in the building because the water meter is back to normal right now. They only gave us $4000 for credit and told us to ask all tenants to provide the rest of balance. However, we do not believe the water readings because it is scientifically incorrect. We would like all tenants teaming up with us to fight this case. Please give a call to Mayor Gary Christenson http://www.tlv.com/global/US/calculator/water-flow-rate-through-piping.html ).

From the science and engineering point of view, the flow rate of 242.58 gallon per hour is impossible. Therefore, we believe that the 10-year water meter has some problems.

We suspect that there are some malfunctions with the water meter. However, the water department does not agree with our opinions.

It also makes us very upset that the water bills take almost two months to reach us. The water reading on 11/15/2015 reached us at 1/6/2016. It does not give us a chance to fix the problem quickly if there is a leak. After we received the water bill on 1/6/2016, We immediately called a plumber to check for water leakage. The plumber could not find any leak. Then the engineer from the water department came to check on 1/8/2016. She also could not find any leak. Do you think the  water meter is malfunctioning during the three month period.

[Roy N.]

@Amy Lu

You can most certainly arrange for a testing of the meter as indicated by others.  I would also check all fixtures in the building - a couple of leaky toilets can run through a tremendous amount of water each day.