Well, I had a post that disappeared, which I came back to edit. Not going to rewrite it so I'll summarize:
1. They could have mixed up the meters when they installed. Check the meter number on your bill and check the number on the meter that is feeding your home to be sure they are the same.
2. They could have installed the wrong size meter. Check the meter size on your bill and check the meter model number (then google that) to be sure you have the correct size meter. A 2" meter on a 3/4" will give an improper usage reading.
3. They could have caused a leak downstream when they installed the meters. Turn off all water and see if the meter still runs.
4. Average usage is nowhere near as high as some posters purport. My municipality measures usage in ccf (100 cubic feet, which is 748 gallons) so each month I'm billed for the nearest full ccf. Converting to gallons:
- Historically, over the last 20+ years, my household used approx 25/gal/day/person.
- I've installed dual flush toilets that use 0.5 gpf for liquids and 0.8 gpf for solids, and low flow aerators at all sinks and showers. Usage over the last two years is down to about 16 gallons/day/person. Although I don't use city water for irrigation, this includes a load or two a week of dishes, and 2-4 loads of laundry.
You are unlikely to recover the cost of a well. A better economic investment may be to replace the toilets with ultra low flow. The Niagara brand dual flush ultra low flow work extraordinarily well and can be purchased at the orange box store. Replace the shower heads, as the newer ones work far better than the original low flow heads with restrictors, and replace the bath sink aerators with low flow. When you purchase washers and dryers, buy the high efficiency ones. Those things will lower your usage significantly.
1. They could have mixed up the meters when they installed. Check the meter number on your bill and check the number on the meter that is feeding your home to be sure they are the same.
2. They could have installed the wrong size meter. Check the meter size on your bill and check the meter model number (then google that) to be sure you have the correct size meter. A 2" meter on a 3/4" will give an improper usage reading.
3. They could have caused a leak downstream when they installed the meters. Turn off all water and see if the meter still runs.
4. Average usage is nowhere near as high as some posters purport. My municipality measures usage in ccf (100 cubic feet, which is 748 gallons) so each month I'm billed for the nearest full ccf. Converting to gallons:
- Historically, over the last 20+ years, my household used approx 25/gal/day/person.
- I've installed dual flush toilets that use 0.5 gpf for liquids and 0.8 gpf for solids, and low flow aerators at all sinks and showers. Usage over the last two years is down to about 16 gallons/day/person. Although I don't use city water for irrigation, this includes a load or two a week of dishes, and 2-4 loads of laundry.
You are unlikely to recover the cost of a well. A better economic investment may be to replace the toilets with ultra low flow. The Niagara brand dual flush ultra low flow work extraordinarily well and can be purchased at the orange box store. Replace the shower heads, as the newer ones work far better than the original low flow heads with restrictors, and replace the bath sink aerators with low flow. When you purchase washers and dryers, buy the high efficiency ones. Those things will lower your usage significantly.
Statistics: Posted by Saving$ — Wed Jun 05, 2024 12:18 am — Replies 25 — Views 837
