Client called me panicking — their water bill tripled from $800 to $2,400 in one month. They assumed it was a leak and had a plumber out who found nothing. The water utility insisted the meter read was correct. I asked for the actual meter readings and found the issue: the meter reader transposed two digits. The actual read was 45,230 but it was entered as 54,230 — an extra 9,000 gallons that didn't exist. Utility corrected it in about 10 minutes once I showed them the numbers.
Water leak that wasn't — meter reading error
Digit transposition on meter reads is surprisingly common. I always compare the current read to the trend of prior reads. If the calculated usage is way outside the normal range, the first thing I check is whether the digits make sense. A read of 54,230 following reads of 44,100, 44,500, 44,900, 45,100 clearly has a transposition somewhere.
Good catch. The client was lucky to have you involved before paying a plumber for extensive leak detection. This is a reminder that apparent usage spikes should be investigated from the billing side before assuming an operational problem. Check the meter read first, then check for leaks. Not the other way around.
Client was thrilled. The plumber visit cost them $200 for nothing. If they'd called me first I could have spotted it in 5 minutes. Now they send me every bill that looks unusual before calling any contractors.