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Is your water bill giving you sticker shock?

Posted at 6:33 PM, Sep 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-23 09:36:46-04

From the far East Valley to the far West Valley, many of you may be experiencing sticker shock when you open up those water bills.

Most likely, your water company will tell you that you may have a leak in your home. Many customers are adamant that they don't. So what do you do?

Some water companies will send someone over to your home to check out your meters, but you can also take action and walk around your property to check for water leaks.

Charles Kramer with Accurate Leak Detection says he usually walks potential customers through a series of steps before even going over to their homes.

Kramer said the first thing you should do is go look at your water meter and see if it is running. Then, turn off all the water sources on your property, and check the meter again. If it is still running, you may have a problem.

Kramer said a lot of the calls he responded to were bad toilets that were leaking. He said the best way to check that was to lift up the lid and see if the water level was above the overflow valve. The leaks could also be within the hot water system, or a water softening system.

You may not always spot the trouble. Kramer said these leaks are not always visible. In some cases there was no obvious puddling or pooling of water, said Kramer. He said it could all just be underground.

If it's not a leak, it could be a broken meter. That can be checked out by the water department, or the Arizona Corporation Commission, depending on where you get service.

Ahwatukee Councilman Sal DiCiccio is asking the city to hold a town hall to discuss the high water bills people have been seeing. He wants to know how the meter readings are done. The City of Phoenix has posted information online to help you find and fix leaks around your property.

Additional resources from the city, like a free bookletas well as ordering another book and a free toilet leak dye tab tester.