High Water Bill? Water Meter Leak Detection in Commerce City, CO

A SACWSD bill that climbs with no visible leak is one of the most common reasons people call us in Commerce City — and it makes sense, since the leaks that drive bills up the most are usually invisible ones. A pinhole leak inside a wall loses just 0.1 to 0.3 gallons per hour, invisible for weeks. A silently leaking toilet flapper runs into the bowl and down the drain unnoticed. Your water meter cannot be fooled the same way: it registers every gallon passing through whether or not you can see where that water went, making it the fastest, cheapest diagnostic step before we ever send a truck.

How to Run the Meter Test Yourself, Right Now

Turn off every fixture and appliance that uses water, including anything on an automatic cycle like a sprinkler timer. Find your curb-box meter, note the flow indicator, and watch it for 90 seconds to 2 hours with nothing running. Any movement means water left the system somewhere between the meter and your fixtures, even with everything off.

Common Causes Behind a High Bill With No Visible Leak

Pinhole leaks. Pre-2021 SACWSD water at 21 grains per gallon left decades of mineral deposits inside Commerce City's 1960s–80s copper, and those pipes are now failing in clusters — see our pinhole leak page. Silent toilet leaks. A worn flapper lets water seep from tank to bowl continuously; food coloring in the tank showing up in the bowl within ten minutes confirms it. Irrigation leaks. A cracked lateral line can run for weeks in a yard before anyone notices standing water. Once you have confirmed loss with the meter test, we combine that flow-rate data with electronic detection and acoustic listening to pinpoint exactly where the water is going, rather than guessing based on the bill alone.

Frequently Asked Questions