Toilets biggest culprit as cause of high bills!                   

Leaks in toilets have been found to be the biggest culprits in causing both high water and sewer bills. Often these leaks cannot be seen or heard. What should you do? The best way to test for a leaking toilet is relatively easy. place some food coloring in the back of the tank. DO NOT FLUSH THE TOILET. Wait several minutes and see if any of the food coloring shows in the toilet bowl, indicating a leak. If you have more than one toilet, dye test them all.

Other things to try:

- Turn off valve, and if meter continues to move, there may be a valve or meter problem.
- Turn off valve and if noise stops, you have a leak.
- If you notice a wet spot in your yard, there may be an outside leak.

Providing Meter Access

With hundreds of water meters to read, our meter reader must be able to quickly access your water meter in order to collect meter readings which will result in a correct charge to your utility account. Under normal conditions, we attempt to read your meter every month. If a meter reader can quickly collect a reading from your meter on the first visit to your property, it helps keep utility costs down, which benefits all customers in helping to keep rates stable. Here are some helpful tips for making sure that your water meter is accessible:

• In Winter, please shovel a path and keep touchpad area clear of ice and snow.
• In Spring to Fall, please trim bushes, trees, and grass that block the way to or cover the touchpad (This is the little black half dollar size "button" on the outside of your house). It is amazing how quickly these plants can cover a water meter touchpad during the growing season. please avoid planting landscape items in the area which meter readers must travel to get to your meter. We would like to avoid any accidental damage to your prized plantings.
• Keep pets away from the path that leads to your meter. If you have a dog which is used for security, please let us know so that we can make sure that our meter reader and other utility personnel are aware of this. We may ask that you arrange to confine the dog during the day that your meter will be read.
• Please make sure that no objects are placed so that they cover or block access to the meter touchpad. A few of the items we find blocking access include cars, trailers, garbage cans and recycling bins, construction equipment or supplies, landscape bark or gravel.
• If your meter is located behind a gate that is normally kept locked, please contact us to arrange access. We often obtain keys from customers who wish to secure their premises and also allow access for our meter reader.
• Please ensure your house address is clearly displayed on your residence. This can assist not only our meter reader, but emergency personnel who may need to find your home in a hurry.