Leaks

If you notice a sudden, large increase in your monthly water consumption, it could be caused by one of the following:

• You may have a leak.

• Turn all of the water off in your house.

• Go outside and locate your water meter.

  • It is underground with a plastic cover, typically at the front edge of your property near the sidewalk. The meter may be covered by a couple inches of dirt. Once you have located the meter, look to see if the meter is moving by noting the flow indicator, which could be a small, red or white dial, triangle or wheel.

    • If it is moving, then water is running somewhere. There could be a leak in the house or in the water line from the meter to the house. To test this, locate the shutoff valve that shuts the flow of water off from the main supply to your house.

    • It is usually located on the outside of the house or in the garage and looks similar to a hose bib. If you turn it off and the meter is still running, then the leak is between the meter and the house. The leak should be located and repaired as soon as possible.

• Irrigation malfunction. It is common for irrigation timers to reset after a power outage. This can cause the irrigation to run more than intended. Most irrigation timers have more than one program, such as programs (a), (b), (c), etc.

  • Check all programs to ensure only one program has an active start time.

    • Broken sprinkler heads and/or broken pipes typically don't lead to a dramatic increase in water use because the broken area draws pressure away from the rest of the zone and the overall water use does not increase.

  • If you do not have a leak, an error within the irrigation system is often the cause of increased water use.

You may contact Winter Springs Utility Billing at 407-327-5996 or ubcs@winterspringsfl.org to request a water audit to help you determine the cause of your increased water use, adjust your irrigation timer, discuss ways to increase water efficiency, and more.