High water bill - LEAK UNDERGROUND?!

redrabbit29

Me and GF live in 2 bedroom place. Our 6 monthly bill came and was £350 saying we used 163m3. About 4-5x the expected.

Water company came and said they think it's the loft tank. As it trickles with gently running water all the time.

They suspect it needs a new ballcock and valve.

This makes sense - HOWEVER, could that have caused such a high bill?


UPDATE - leak underground

I had the toilet upstairs fixed as it had a faulty ball !!!! which was causing it to overflow, but it was intermittent and so I didn't really notice it.

On the advice of a friend and others:

- I turned the stop !!!! off
- Took a meter reading which was 223.514
- Went to work for 10 hours or something
- Came home and took another reading which was 223.537


Now I'm really p*ssed off as water company that came out didn't identify that the meter running with the stop !!!! off is a problem on the supply line.

I'm now REALLY worried about this, particularly the cost. I can't see any water outside, I can't see any patches of green grass ... which is what the guides online say.

I'm not sure if insurance covers it - it's really hard to understand this 100 page policy document!

Has anyone encountered an underground leak, or how to identify it? Do the water company have any responsibility to at least HELP locate it? I know it's my responsibility but was just wondering.

Stompa

redrabbit29 wrote: »

Water company came and said they think it's the loft tank. As it trickles with gently running water all the time.

They suspect it needs a new ballcock and valve.

So where does the overflow from the loft tank go?

redrabbit29

Stompa wrote: »

So where does the overflow from the loft tank go?

There are two white pipes coming out of the roof - however there's no water coming out of them :-/

I'm reluctant to call a plumber as I don't trust what I've been told.

However I don't really have a choice

Stompa

redrabbit29 wrote: »

There are two white pipes coming out of the roof - however there's no water coming out of them :-/

Well I'm no plumber, but if water were continually trickling into the tank, it would surely end up trickling out of the overflow at the same rate. And given that we appear to be talking about a large quantity of water, it's hard to see how you could miss that.

Cardew

redrabbit29 wrote: »

Me and GF live in 2 bedroom place. Our 6 monthly bill came and was £350 saying we used 163m3. About 4-5x the expected.

Water company came and said they think it's the loft tank. As it trickles with gently running water all the time.

They suspect it needs a new ballcock and valve.

This makes sense - HOWEVER, could that have caused such a high bill?

The average for a couple in 6 months is approx. 55 cubic metres.


Is the 163m3 based on actual meter readings(start and end of 6 month period) or estimated readings.


If actual readings you have 'leaked' something like 108 m3 in 6 months. That is a litre every hour.


The normal culprit for that sort of leak is a toilet cistern overflowing and leaking silently into the bowl - easy to check.


A leak of that magnitude should be easy to find; it must be going into the sewer if it is not the tank overflow.


Turn off the main stopc0ck and see if the level in the loft tank still drops - obviously use no water in that period.

mart.vader

redrabbit29 wrote: »

UPDATE - leak underground

I had the toilet upstairs fixed as it had a faulty ball !!!! which was causing it to overflow, but it was intermittent and so I didn't really notice it.

On the advice of a friend and others:

- I turned the stop !!!! off
- Took a meter reading which was 223.514
- Went to work for 10 hours or something
- Came home and took another reading which was 223.537


Now I'm really p*ssed off as water company that came out didn't identify that the meter running with the stop !!!! off is a problem on the supply line.

I'm now REALLY worried about this, particularly the cost. I can't see any water outside, I can't see any patches of green grass ... which is what the guides online say.

I'm not sure if insurance covers it - it's really hard to understand this 100 page policy document!

Has anyone encountered an underground leak, or how to identify it? Do the water company have any responsibility to at least HELP locate it? I know it's my responsibility but was just wondering.

Most (but not all) Water Cos offer a one-off, free or subsidised leak repair service and a one-off leak allowance to cover the water lost as a result of your leak. Phone them.

See this link : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64762342#Comment_64762342

Stompa

redrabbit29 wrote: »

- I turned the stop !!!! off
- Took a meter reading which was 223.514
- Went to work for 10 hours or something
- Came home and took another reading which was 223.537

FWIW, assuming it was constantly leaking at that same rate (and that the meter reading is in cubic metres), that would only account for around 10m³ over a six month period.

fairy2

if turning the stop !!!! off does not stop the water meter turning then how could the leak be being caused by overflowing cistern as suggested above? Would n't the toilet stop filling up if stopcock turned off?