Water and Sewage Bills

New two family home owner here and have searched the forum, but didn’t quite find the right answer.

Just got my first month water/sewer bill and it was $425 total for just February. Was surprised as only two of us living here and the other unit is vacant.

I suspect something is up with the meter. After researching I don’t believe we have an automatic meter reader (AMR) and looking at previous bills online it looks like the meter has been “stuck” on one value for years.

Could we be being billed a maximum amount of the meter isn’t being read? Each unit is around $125 for sewer charges and $75 for water.

What is a realistic water/sewage bill to expect per month? The thought of over 5k a year has me reeling!

Thanks!

npwebster

in General Discussion 5 years and 3 months ago

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helen40

in General Discussion 5 years and 3 months ago

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2 family home owner here. 5 total in the house. Washing machine and a full size and mini dishwasher. 1/4ly bills total $350 +/- with last year’s total for water and sewer at $1300 or so. We also have a 1.5″ line for the sprinkler, so that adds some cost.

Guest User | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Compassion, it’s very unpleasant to find this when buying a house. I hope everything will be fine after installing the meter

mozeeatupu | 5 years and 3 months ago

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The AMR is a gray rectangular box usually placed in the front lower facade of the house, not near the meter.

Guest User | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Hope things work out for you (I suspect they will).

npwebster | 5 years and 3 months ago

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I spoke to DEP and was being charged frontage since they have not had access to the meter. The seller had a 10k water bill they paid at closing and they were not happy about it. Clearly they had been paying frontage for a very long time. I have an inspector coming Monday to look at the meter and hopefully install an AMR. Hopefully I’ve gotten to the bottom of it and did not open another can of worms. Nothing like being a new homeowner!

glarph | 5 years and 3 months ago

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For comparison purposes, I have 8-9 people living in my four unit brownstone. There’s no washing machines and only one dishwasher in the building and my annual water/sewer bills add up to something like $1,800. Usage def goes up in the summer but I put my account on autopay and send in $150 every month to smooth it out and check once a year to make sure we’re not too far ahead or behind in the game. Getting a paper bill or regular reading has never been reliable hence my system.

resident2 | 5 years and 3 months ago

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When you bought the house, your Attorney should have requested a water meter reading as part of the title search, did that happen? If there was an issue with the meter; for example that it did not have the required automatic reader attached to it, or that it was not registered with the water department, it would have shown up on the searches and the seller would need to get it corrected or compensate you to get it taken care of.
Are you being billed as frontage or actual meter reading? It sounds like a frontage bill, a penalty for not having a meter. All buildings have to have a meter, but many did not get them & are normally discovered upon transfer of title.

npwebster | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Thanks all! No leaks that I can find anywhere. Think this is a water meter issue as the reading on all the past bills I can find online from the previous owner show the same reading for every month! Contacting DEP now!!

Lurker | 5 years and 3 months ago

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When we bought our place the previous owner had vacated the place with a shower dribbling and a toilet that seeped and so would cycle. The bill was like $900 for that month alone. Despite increasing substantially every year water is still relatively cheap—our bill for a 2 family is typically $50 or $75 a month) so it’s likely you have a leak somewhere, a fixture that keeps running or as you wondered a busted meter .

Guest User | 5 years and 3 months ago

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It sounds like you either have a slow leak, like a running toilet, or a faulty meter. If you know for certain that the meter is broken then this next advice won’t help, and getting that remedied should be your highest priority. If the meter is functioning, shut off all water using appliances and outlets in your home (and the other unit if possible), and then go watch the meter. If it still moves then you’ve got a usage leak – you could also listen to the sewer line in the cellar to see if there is water continuously running there.

For perspective, we live in a two family, fully occupied with 6 bodies and our monthly water bill for the entire building is between $60-75 and that’s including the insurance!

Good luck!

Arkady | 5 years and 3 months ago

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They now offer monthly billing – an insert w/ my last 2 quarterly bills.
I’d track your usage on the meter at least once a week to build a record for a quarter & then phone DEP. You might be able to track past usage on-line if you’ve joined their website.

JohnHancock | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Its usually a quarterly bill, not monthly