How to understand DEP water usage?

Hi all, Our quarterly water bill for our brownstone typically runs about $250 with some spikes during construction, but after an $850 bill last fall I have been watching our usage on the DEP site–but I haven’t been able to figure it out. We are a family of five with gas-fired hot water radiators, a new boiler, and an irrigation system for a deck that runs 3 days a week. The kids don’t shower nearly enough and we run a water-efficient dishwasher once each night. W/D are front-loaders and I typically do several loads once a week. We did have a problem last year with two toilets that occasionally ran even after repairs but they were finally fixed. I’m tracking the usage on the DEP site but am not finding it as clear as I’d hope–does anyone know how reliable that is, particularly with respect to which days the usage shows? Is there anyone who could help me figure this out? What I’m seeing is generally consistent usage but with huge spikes every so often, and I can’t figure out why–it isn’t as simple as a consistent uptick after a leak develops. Thanks for any thoughts.

nf85

in General Discussion 8 years ago

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dorkofwindsor | 8 years ago

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Fyi – i would co sider this issue not isolated
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/01/water.bills.war/index.html

Arkady | 8 years ago

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I’d do daily readings of my meter to see how it tracks w/ the DEP.

namahs | 8 years ago

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Same here, after the installed the automated water meter reading, I feel my water rates have gone up significantly. Then again they might just have increased their rates. I have been tempted to install one of those water meter usage devices that you can monitor your usage via app. Just a bit hesitant to pull trigger now because those devices are still very new and have not mature yet.

empathie00 | 8 years ago

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Following this as I’m having similar issues. After 5 years of very consistent bills, they’re suddenly all over the place – and not a leak, either, as they spike up and then go down for a month, and so on… Have tried calling DEP but no luck.

Lurker | 8 years ago

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The tricky thing with the DEP site as well is that it records an automatic minimum so you never really know how little you use.
I don’t have specific answer but a stuck toilet running, or slowly leaking, can use a colossal amount of water, like thousands of gallons a month. Our home’s previous owner had a dripping shower and leaking toilet and would get massive spikes like that. If you have added irrigation that wasn’t there before that’s potentially a large amount of water–a standard 1/2 hose can dump 24 gallons a minute on full blast (at the high end).