Unexpectedly high water bill, has anyone seen meter over report due to air in the line?

[Jetlaggedandwet]

Hi everyone, I’m seeing water bills that are far higher than expected at a few express-wash locations. No leaks, same usage, same customers, yet costs are spiking.


A few industry contacts mentioned a scenario where air in the lines can register as water on city meters, essentially billing you for air bubbles, not actual water.


My questions:

• Has anyone experienced this, especially when bills jump suddenly without any visible fix?
• How did you diagnose it? (E.g., meter inspection, pressure checks, data logging)
• What did you do to resolve it, and did it actually lower the bill?

I’d love to hear your experiences or tips. Feel free to message me if you’ve seen this.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Roz]

Never seen or heard of such an issue. I do read about many towns significantly raising their water and sewer rates - often at a higher percentage on high use business customers like car washes.

 

[Jetlaggedandwet]

Never seen or heard of such an issue. I do read about many towns significantly raising their water and sewer rates - often at a higher percentage on high use business customers like car washes.

Yes, I’ve been hearing the same thing, and honestly, it’s new to me too.

I made this post because I couldn’t find much about it online or in the car wash space. I did ask someone in the hotel industry, though, and they said they’re using something like this and actually seeing savings.


So. I did what any curious person would do, signed up for a quick intro call


Got a meeting tomorrow. I’ll report back and let you all know if it’s legit or just smoke and mirrors.

 

[Robert2181]

I have seen where there was a problem with the meter, city replaced it, and we agreed on an average amount from a history report.

 

[Jetlaggedandwet]

I have seen where there was a problem with the meter, city replaced it, and we agreed on an average amount from a history report.

Yes, I was reading about that on here, and some people even double or almost triple their water bill because the meter was set incorrectly or was defective, and the city is slow to respond to the request and even refuse to pay for the water they overspent on, thats crazy.