Your Water Use

Leaks and High Water Bills

Leaks are often the cause of high water bills. According to the US EPA, the average household's leaks can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year and ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day. See the tools and resources below to help you find and resolve leaks.

• Check for Leaks Using Your Water Meter –  Learn how to read your water meter.
• Test Toilets for Leaks – Toilet leaks can silently waste up to 7,000 gallons per year. Easily check toilets for silent leaks with dye tabs or improvise at home with food coloring. To use, simply drop the tablets into the tank. If colored water appears in the bowl after a few minutes, you have a leak and repairs should be made. Watch our video below on how to test toilets for leaks.
• Leak Resolution Guide – Find and resolve leaks with this easy to use, interactive guide that is available through My Water Report. 
• Leak Adjustments – If you determine you've got a leak, you can request an adjustment to your water bill.

Water Wise House Call

Get customized advice from our water efficiency experts on how to check for leaks, manage your water use, and save water. 

• Water Wise House Calls – For residential customers.
• Water Use Evaluations – For multi-family and commercial customers.

Watering Schedule 

The optimum time to water your lawn or landscape is during the night or early morning when the sun is down and the temperature is cooler. Use the Lawn & Landscape Watering Schedule (PDF) / Lawn & Landscape Watering Schedule - Spanish (PDF) suggested watering schedules as a starting point and then adjust as needed to avoid overwatering. For information on how to program your irrigation controller according to our watering schedule suggestions, watch our video on irrigation controller programming tips to maximize your water savings.

My Water Report 

We offer a free online portal to treated water customers to help track and manage water use with user-friendly graphics that show your water consumption. With My Water Report customers can set up high use alerts to be notified when your water use is higher than normal, track your water use history and how it changes over time, see how your water use compares to similar households, and receive recommendations that help you save water and money. Sign up for My Water Report.

How to Read your Water Meter

Reading your water meter will tell you how much water you're using and whether you have a leak. Helpful resources include a video, instructions, and a log to help you keep track of your readings. Learn how to read your water meter.