A water bill that doubles is usually something small and cheap running past your meter, most often a toilet. But it can also be the buried line from the street, and which one you are looking at turns on a piece of plumbing geography most people have never checked: whether your meter sits in a pit near the curb or inside where the service enters the building.
We get called for this a lot, usually after a plumber has been out once and found nothing. Before anybody digs up a lawn, here is what the bill is actually telling you.
First, find out where your meter is
A meter measures what passes through it. Nothing else. So the position of the meter decides which parts of your plumbing can even show up on a bill, and around here it sits in one of two places.
In a pit near the curb. A cast iron or plastic lid at grade, usually close to the curb stop. If this is you, nearly the whole buried run from the pit to the house is downstream of the meter, and a leak out there is measured like any other water. A jumped bill is entirely consistent with a failing service line.
Inside, where the service enters the building. Usually the basement, near the main shutoff. Hackettstown's authority describes the shutoff as normally located near the water meter at the front of the house or where the service line enters the building. If this is you, the entire buried run is upstream of the meter, that water is never measured, and a service line can leak for months while the bill stays completely flat.
Both arrangements are common in this part of New Jersey. Same leak, opposite bill, depending purely on which one you have. That is why the first thing worth doing is not calling anybody, it is finding your meter.
If your meter is inside and the bill has jumped, the water is passing the meter, which points to something on your side of it and usually to a far cheaper problem than a trench. If your meter is in a curb pit, a jumped bill narrows things down much less, and the yard is worth a careful look.
The ten minute test that settles it
You can do this yourself and it costs nothing.
- Turn off every fixture in the house. Nothing running, no ice maker cycling, no irrigation, no washing machine.
- Find your meter and look for the small low flow indicator, usually a little triangle or dial that spins with even a trickle.
- Watch it for a minute. If it moves at all, water is passing the meter with nothing turned on.
- If it does not move, write down the reading, leave the house alone for two hours, and read it again. A slow leak shows up over time when it will not show up in a minute.
If the indicator moves, the leak is past the meter and it is yours to chase indoors. If it does not move and your bill still jumped, the reading itself is worth questioning before anything else.
What a jumped bill usually turns out to be
| Pattern | Usually means | Who to call first |
|---|---|---|
| Meter indicator moves with everything off | A leak past the meter, most often a toilet flapper | Plumber |
| Bill jumped in spring or summer only | Irrigation, an outside spigot, or a hose left cracked open | Yourself, then a plumber |
| Bill jumped and stayed up, indicator still | Meter reading, an estimated bill, or a rate change | Your water utility |
| Bill flat, but a wet spot in the yard | Still consistent with the buried service line if your meter is inside the building, since that water is never metered | Your water utility, to shut the curb valve |
| Utility contacted you about unusual usage | They may see what your bill does not | Your water utility |
The numbers, from the EPA
Household leaks are bigger than people assume. The EPA puts the average household's leaks at more than 9,300 gallons of water wasted every year, and says nine percent of homes have leaks that waste 50 gallons or more per day. On toilets specifically, the EPA notes an old or worn flapper can cause a toilet to flush on its own or silently leak thousands of gallons a year.
A flapper is a few dollars. That is the whole reason this article exists: the cheapest possible repair and the most expensive possible repair produce the same panic when the bill arrives, and telling them apart takes ten minutes.
When it really is the buried line
It happens, and it is worth taking seriously when it does. The tells are covered in detail in a wet spot in the yard that never dries, but the short version: ground that stays wet through a dry spell, clean water with no smell, and a spot in the corridor between the street and the house. Pressure that has fallen off across the whole house rather than at one fixture is another.
If that is what you have, call your water utility before you call us. They hold the key for the curb valve and can stop the flow; we cannot. Which utility that is depends on your address rather than your town, and around here that is genuinely not obvious. The list is on who supplies water in your NJ town.
Replacing a service line runs $8,000 to $10,000 for a 200 foot service in northern New Jersey, and the length is why we quote it against a stated distance rather than in the abstract. What that involves is on water service replacement.
Ask about a leak adjustment anyway
Many water utilities will adjust a bill inflated by a genuine leak, usually once, usually with proof that the leak was found and repaired. We went looking for published leak adjustment policies at local utilities around here and did not find one posted on their websites. That is not the same as there being no policy, and it is a question worth asking rather than assuming the answer.
If you do ask, have three things ready: the date you found it, the date it was repaired, and the invoice from whoever repaired it. Policies that exist elsewhere in New Jersey commonly require a licensed plumber's documentation, apply to a limited number of billing periods, and credit the account rather than refunding money. Ask early rather than after several quarters have gone by.
Common questions
Why is my water bill so high all of a sudden in NJ? Most often something past your meter that runs without being noticed, and toilets lead by a distance. Run the ten minute test: shut everything off and watch the meter's low flow indicator. If it moves, water is passing the meter with nothing on, and the problem is inside. If it does not move, question the reading or a rate change before you assume a leak.
Does a leak in the buried water line make my bill go up? Only if your meter is in a pit near the curb, in which case most of the buried run is downstream of it and the leak is measured. If your meter is inside where the service enters the building, the whole buried run is upstream of it, the escaping water is never measured, and the bill can stay flat while the line leaks for months. Both arrangements are common around here, so check yours rather than assuming either way.
How do I check my water meter for a leak? Turn off every fixture and appliance that uses water, find the meter, and watch the small low flow indicator, usually a triangle or a spinning dial. Any movement with everything off means water is passing the meter. For a very slow leak, take a reading, leave the house untouched for two hours, and compare.
How much water does a running toilet waste? The EPA says an old or worn flapper can cause a toilet to flush on its own or silently leak thousands of gallons a year, and puts the average household's total leaks at more than 9,300 gallons annually. Nine percent of homes have leaks wasting 50 gallons or more per day. A flapper costs a few dollars to replace.
Can I get my water bill adjusted after fixing a leak in New Jersey? It depends on your utility, and it is worth asking. We could not find published leak adjustment policies for the local utilities we checked, which does not mean they will not consider one. Have the date you found the leak, the date it was fixed, and the repair invoice ready, and ask sooner rather than later, since policies that do exist tend to cover a limited number of billing periods.
My bill is normal but there is a wet patch in the yard. Can it still be the water line? Yes, particularly if your meter is inside the building rather than in a curb pit, because in that arrangement the buried run is never metered at all. A normal bill does not clear the buried line on its own. Judge it on whether the ground stays wet through a dry spell instead.
Still not sure how this applies to your property? That is what a free on-site estimate is for. Call 862-268-2510 or tell us what is going on, and we will give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you do not need us.
Code and source references
- US EPA WaterSense, Fix a Leak Week, for household leak volumes and toilet flapper losses
- Hackettstown Municipal Utilities Authority, on which portion of the service line the utility owns and which the customer owns
- Water purveyor contacts by town: who supplies water in your NJ town
- Our current price ranges: what this work costs
This is general information from an excavation contractor, not your water utility and not a plumber. Meter arrangements and utility policies vary, so confirm yours with the name on your bill.