Just received a $1200 water bill for a park that normally runs $250 a month. (We had some busted pipes during the recent cold spell.) Here’s my question:
Is there a system or process or product (like an alarm) that alerts you when there is a leak or above normal water usage? Being only 6 months into ownership of this property, we have tackled other more pressing issues and are not yet submetered.
Is there an alarm or system folks use to prevent a $1200 water bill surprise?
Have you checked with your utility company to see if they have a leak adjustment paper you can file?
Ken
Most Radio tagged water meters send out alerts for all oddities flagged in the system…
We got an automated system that can send you text message/ email alerts for leaks, extremes users of water, back-flow, Etc… comes with a daily report on every lot and its usage.
Here’s an example.
Check out our website for more info.
Gabriel Elendu
Gabriel@abtwater.com
http://abtwater.com/
A few other suggestions - have your manager spend two minutes reading the master water meter once in a while to check for any large increase in use.
Also you may have grounds to request a refund of the sewer portion of your bill - your water leak didn’t increase any drain on the sewer system but you got billed for both water and sewer use.
If you were looking to monitor a distribution break… you can upgrade the city meter with a radio tag or add another meter down stream from the city meter if the city doesn’t allow the first option. Then we can provide you real time data on any abnormal or excessive use…
Just another suggestion.
There is a leak detection device that automatically shuts off the water upon leak detection call FloLogic. Full disclosure, I work for the company. We pioneered a smart water valve that senses any flow of water through a pipe. Typical water use has start and stop points. Leaks start and don’t stop. FloLogic flags leaks and automatically shuts off the water to prevent leak damage and water waste. More info can be found at www.flologic.com
Within your park, are there shut off valves that section off your park? If so, do valve checks regularly until you can get your individual meters in. Transversely, ask the city to give you data on their master meter (if its radio) once a month or whatever interval, at like 3 in the morning, if there is high usage there is a leak or a bunch of them. Do you know how to spot a leak on the surface ? It sounds easy enough, it can be harder than it sounds.
Really tall green grass in a line where everything else is short and dead dead. Sink holes in weird places. Puddles in July in the heat… oh, and if your streets are paved and they are sinking at the seam lines in the center (if they are wide enough for two lines of asphalt) your main lines should be checked by a professional. Your manager / maintenance person should be walking property daily to check on this kind of thing along with trash pick up and tagging cars for illegal parking, etc… Also alert your residents to look for leaks - any mushy ground around or under their home, and encourage them to let the office know asap so you can get it handled. That multiples the eyes on the ground 
We had a resident cover a leak with a tarp, a disk weight from a weight lifting bar, and a pallet, to “stop the leak.” but they didn’t tell me about it until I went and asked them what the pile was for.
Had another one that decided to skim coat a brick walk way - next to a 40 year old Cedar tree - which if it was a normal scenario, would have drank the water, in order to keep his wife’s feet dry to their car… never thought to talk to the office - and it was their main water line, it was affecting the pressure in their home, and leaving a mess and had been that way at least a year and they said nothing… they also tried to "fix it. "
it takes all kinds.
