Water use per meter is steady for most buildings. When one meter's gallons per day jumps, or runs several times a similar building's, the cause is usually physical (a leak, a stuck irrigation valve, running toilets, a pool fill) or a misread.
The check
- For each meter, divide gallons by days in the period to get gallons per day.
- Compare with the same meter last year and with meters serving similar buildings.
- Look for notes on the bill such as 'estimated read' or 'billing correction'.
Next steps
- Ask maintenance for a site check: toilets, irrigation timers, pool, boiler make-up water, visible wet areas.
- If the read looks wrong, ask the utility for a re-read and, once fixed, a leak adjustment; many water utilities have a leak-credit policy.
- Sewer is often billed on water use, so a leak costs twice.