Really High Water Usage for Living Alone, Is This Normal?

Oz8argain on 09/11/2017 - 15:37
Last edited 15/11/2017 - 15:16

Hi guys, this has been a bad month for me..
My water bill came and I think it's abnormally expensive for someone that has been living alone… August to Nov = $374.65 (see image)
https://imgur.com/a/eqoRy

I live by myself and I'm away on weekends so I don't understand why it is so expensive. I barely use any water and I use the washing machine once every 2 weeks max. I have checked that no tap has been left on and no toilet is leaking.
I checked this bill against a friends in the next apartment building, August to Nov = $129.53 (2 people).
I have called city west water once before about this last time, they said it could be a water leak. I contacted my body corporate and after an investigation they said there is no leak. So I don't know what my next step is. Any help is appreciated thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks guys, seems like it is a shared water bill across 33 neighbours. Even if I used no water, I will still have to pay $400 every 3 months, just have to cop the bill….

Home & Garden

Comments

  • PissLUR on 09/11/2017 - 15:39
    +1

    check your water meter and compare the readings.

    Current Reading - 004559
    Previous Reading - 002762

    Consumpsion in kiloliters - 54.45
    Is this correct?

  • HighAndDry on 09/11/2017 - 15:43
    +1

    "I checked this bill against a friends in the next apartment building, August to Nov = $129.53 (2 people)."

    Usage or total? Because just the service charge is $121.94.

    If it's usage, yours is still high, but not as bad as your post makes it sound ($374 vs $129), only $227 vs $129.

    But yeah, check your water meter, get your strata to check for leakage.

    • Oz8argain on 09/11/2017 - 15:46
      +1

      they have the exact service charge 121.94, they used 15kl total $36.66 which makes more sense to me

  • Euphemistic on 09/11/2017 - 15:47
    +5

    Are you on your own meter? My MIL always has really high bills in her villa as there is one meter for the entire property. All the other owners use way more than she does and also get the pensioner discount so they don't conserve water - she gets a proportion of the total bill based on the number of units, not her actual usage share.

    If you have a separate meter: Turn everything off for the night/weekend, read your meter (photograph it if you can't work out the numbers, compare the meter reading the next morning/upon return before using any more water. This will tell you if you have a leak you can't see.

    My first house had a leak near the water meter that I didn't know was there. Got a high bill, got the leak repaired and the water co 'averaged' my usage bill and gave me a credit after I sent them a copy of the repair invoice.

    • Oz8argain on 09/11/2017 - 16:05

      if my water meter is shared, that means there is only 1 physical meter? The concept of this sounds ridiculous, I don't understand why they would do this. if my Current Reading: 004559 Previous Reading: 002762 and my individual is 54.45 that means it must be shared across 33 different apartment rooms. I'm not sure if there are 33, but I will try to confirm this tonight, thanks

      • tebbybabes on 09/11/2017 - 20:51
        +1

        It's pretty common in townhouses in my area. I would think that some apartments might have the same setup. They're billed exactly like how @Euphemistic said. Kinda sad/unfair if a family uses way less water in proportion to the others.

      • Euphemistic on 10/11/2017 - 08:07

        Yes, quite often there is one meter. The developer doesn't really care about how much you need to pay in water, and installing one big meter is a lot cheaper than installing 30 little ones in a place where someone can actually come and read them.

        If there are 'about 30' apartments in your complex, from your meter reading and calcs that is exactly what happens.

  • onetwothreefour on 09/11/2017 - 16:30

    You use your washing machine once every 2 weeks? Do you have 14 pairs of underwear to last you that long?

    • John Kimble on 09/11/2017 - 16:40
      +5

      Inside out, back to front, inside out and back to front… Duh

    • dazweeja on 09/11/2017 - 16:54
      +1

      He's actually a commando

    • Oz8argain on 09/11/2017 - 17:44

      What is underwear?

      I actually do my washings else where

    • Zachary on 10/11/2017 - 17:06

      What if you don't wear underwear?

      • John Kimble on 10/11/2017 - 17:14
        +1

        Then you would have more washing, as you should probably wash your stinky shorts/pants more often!

  • John Kimble on 09/11/2017 - 16:43

    How do they know no leak???

    We had a leak in the bathroom wall feeding out of the hot water tank. High water and electricity bill. Was renting, so only electricity bill for us, but still annoying.

    Then bought a place and had a leak in the kitchen wall.

    Was lucky they were both in obvious places and we noticed relatively quickly.

    Apparently leaks in walls or whatever happens a lot.

  • try2bhelpful on 09/11/2017 - 16:51
    +1

    I would also look for leaks if you think consumption is high.

  • steven6 on 09/11/2017 - 16:52
    +2

    To check for a leak I was told to turn off all taps before you go to bed and check water meter, then check water meter when you wake up and then turn on taps. Don't forget about toilet water usage during that night.

    • steven6 on 11/11/2017 - 16:50

      Just to clarify my comment. When I say taps I mean taps inside the apartment and not the water meter. By also turning the hot water tap off as well as the toilet tap you can check if there are any leaks between the meter and all of your taps. You can also check the toilet and hot water by leaving them on one at a time during the next couple of nights.

  • sa5ha on 09/11/2017 - 17:58

    That does seem abnormally high for water use if you're living alone and don't use much water.

    My last water bill was 58 kl for two people in an apartment for three months but we both shower twice a day, do about 4-5 loads of washing a week and run the dishwasher every night. Plus we had a fortnight or so with a faulty relief valve on our hotwater system which was wasting water in that period.

    Oh and despite our usage being higher than yours - our water bill was only about $240.

  • vinni9284 on 09/11/2017 - 18:10

    Water leaks somewhere? piping, inner ground… etc
    You can get water pressure testers.
    Have a look into it

  • Nugs on 09/11/2017 - 18:13

    we are a family of 5 on rain water so moderately conscious.

    we use around 400 litres per day - 12kl/month

  • Ryanek on 09/11/2017 - 18:17

    Check your toilets for a slow leak.

  • cassidy02 on 09/11/2017 - 20:52

    Do you own where you live? If you're only renting, you shouldn't be paying the rates. When you're comparing with your friends, just make sure it's for the same breakdown.

    A quick call to CWW should get your answer if you're on a shared meter. Yep it's crap but isn't uncommon.

    On another note, CWW suck. They are the new Telstra in regards to customer service.

    • Euphemistic on 10/11/2017 - 08:09

      Paying water usage in a rental is not uncommon.

      • cassidy02 on 10/11/2017 - 12:06

        I agree, usage is normal, I'm questioning the rates section (not payable by renters in residential Victoria).

  • brokenglish on 09/11/2017 - 21:19

    I live alone as well and I can tell you I use water a lot!
    I take long showers and wash my hands quite often.
    My usage is 28kl/3 months.

    Check your water meter personally, on your bill it says your meter number is MFC? Mass Flow Controller.
    Could be shared, doesn't look like a valid water meter number (independent/your own meter).
    If it's shared, then it's time to move!

  • boccos on 10/11/2017 - 07:32
    +1

    Read your water meter daily at approximately the same time. Write it down. Also check it just before you leave home in the morning and just when you come home, which is in theory a "no-usage " period. This will establish a leak or no-leak issue. (Assuming your meter is not shared)

  • jm48 on 10/11/2017 - 15:26

    605 litres per day for 1 person in an apartment is a lot.
    That's about 3 big wheelie bins full.
    I live alone in a house and water the garden and used 150 litres per day.

    If you are metered for 33 apartments then usage should not jump suddenly,
    because it is averaged over so many people, if you see what I mean.
    Can you compare your bill to previous bills for your apartment ?

  • HeWhoKnows on 10/11/2017 - 15:51

    Water useage is only $139.00 but actually works out to 605L per day which is huge!
    Check for leaking taps.
    They can add a signifant amount of wasted water to your bill.
    You may be single but do you water the garden or wash your car regularly?
    How long is your shower? How much washing do you do?
    All these contribute to water usage. Still its a difficult call at 605L per day.
    So the fact you are single matters not.
    Also check with other people in your block/neighbourhood and see how much their water usage is.
    If you know where the water meter is check it and they may have "estimated" water usage

  • gazza the great on 10/11/2017 - 20:27

    2 of us with a average size house and block and a bit of garden. Over the last 2 years (lucky i'm a nerd and keep household records) our average usage is 30 kl per 3 months. As someone said earlier ,turn off meter for 12 hours and check for usage. Also, some people may not realise that a kilolitre is 1000 lites, so $2.40 for a 1000 litres of water seems good value to me.

    • Euphemistic on 10/11/2017 - 21:31

      Might get a lot of cranky neighbours if you turn their water off though with a shared meter.

      If you turn the meter off for 12hrs, it isn't going to prove anything, the meter won't run, the leaks will be turned off.

      • Zachary on 12/11/2017 - 17:00
        +1

        If you turn the meter off for 12hrs, it isn't going to prove anything, the meter won't run, the leaks will be turned off.

        I suppose it could prove that the biller is ripping you off by charging for water you're not even using since the tap is off….

        • gazza the great on 13/11/2017 - 19:29

          Thanks Zachary, that's the point i was trying to make. Excuse my ignorance of the english language, Euphemistic.

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