Sometimes opening the utility bill can be a shock.

The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities often receives customer calls and emails concerning higher than usual utility bills. This can be for a variety of reasons.

Incomplete Payments

It’s easy for a past due amount to snowball when you make partial payments or none at all. Not only is the bill still due, there are now late fees attached. If you make the same payment amount every month, regardless of the season, in just a few months, the bill will accumulate enough of an unpaid balance to trigger a disconnection notice.

Transfer of Service

If you recently moved, unpaid bills from old accounts will follow you, so your first bill at a new address may come as a surprise. The bill doesn’t stay at the address; it travels with the account holder. If you are a new account, you can expect a security deposit to be included with the first bill.

Water Leaks

A water leak can be devastating to a customer’s bill. DPU can perform site inspections to see if the water leak is on the city side of the meter and adjust your bill 100% for excess sewer charges and 50% for excess water charges.  However, if the leak is determined to be on the customer’s side, all charges billed will be the responsibility of the accountholder.  A quick way to determine if you have a leak is to close the main valve to your home and observe the water meter that services your property. If the indicator continues to turn, you have a leak in the pipe between the water meter and the main valve to your home, or the main valve is not shutting off water completely.

Check all your water sources for leaks – toilets, sinks, etc. – one at a time. Turn off the valve on each and check the water meter to see if it stops turning. If it does, that fixture is the culprit.

Toilets are often the cause. A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day. Open the cover on the tank. If the water level is above the overflow tube, there is a problem. The water level should be approximately ½ inch or so below the top of the overflow pipe. Adjust the float level, so that the water is turned off at that level. If the valve controlled by the float is leaking, it may need to be replaced.

Toilet leaks can also be due to a leak at the flapper valve that lets water flow into the toilet bowl. To test for this, put a drop or two of food coloring into the tank (not the bowl). Wait about 10 minutes and see if the colored water shows up in the bowl. If it does, your flapper valve may need to be replaced. 

Lifestyle Changes

Changes in your living arrangements can trigger changes in your utility bills. Are you now working from home or retired? Then you may be running your heat and using more water than before. Are the children home from school or for the holidays? Are there additional members of the household? Did you do more gardening and lawn irrigating than before, or put in a pool? Has the laundry load increased?

Here are some other places where you may be using more water:

Household faucets - 3-5 gallons a minute when running
Shower - 5-10 gallons a minute
Tub bath - 50 gallons if full
Dishwasher - 15-20 gallons per load
Washing machine - 35 gallons per average full load cycle
Lawn watering - 35 gallons per half acre
Dripping faucet - 1,000 gallons per year
Hot water heaters - 3000+ gallons wasted per year

Estimated Bills

Meters are read electronically as a computer-equipped truck drives by a residence or business, picking up signals.  If the signal from the electronic reading device is blocked or unresponsive, your utility bill may be estimated based on previous usage.  Estimated readings may also occur when the meter box is covered by objects such as mulch, flowerbeds, trashcans, vehicles, or access is denied by a locked gate, large animal or inside location.  Once an actual read is obtained, you may notice a fluctuation in your bill as you may have received a credit or you may owe more to make up the difference. DPU strives to limit estimating bills as much as possible.

Assistance with Overdue Bills

Any customer needing assistance with past due bills are encouraged to explore all customer service affordability programs.