I was wrong, and the city was right: I had a leak. However, my unusual water bills showing large, winter-time fluctuations reflected a rare, anomalous leak.
In three previous blogs, I have taken the Water Section of the Utilities Department to task for billing me for water usage fluctuating from 3,000 to 12,000 gallons per month, peaking between January through March, precisely those months when usage is the basis for wastewater consumption fees. For each of 4 years, its personnel blamed a leak, but no one in the Water Section or on the Utility Board of Commissioners could detect it, large pools, or even patches of wet soil; could explain the fluctuations; or could suggest its location. The harder I pressed for an explanation, the more suspicious the avoidance of one became and the more doubtful of a leak I became.
Two weeks ago, presumably irritated by my three blogs, the Water Section sent out an A-Team whose members thoroughly inspected my house and yard. By projecting the course of the water line from meter to house, they pointed to the probable location of the leak near some mature vegetation. I accepted their suggestion and hypothesized the reason for the magnitude, regularity, and seasonality of the fluctuation in my annual billing cycle: tree roots. They were pushing against the pipe and creating a leak. In the fall, sap descending into the roots swelled them, increased the pressure on the pipe, and enlarged the leak; in the spring, sap rising from the roots reduced the swelling, decreased the pressure on the pipe, and shrunk the leak.
My plumber dug a pit nearly two-and-a-half feet deep before finding the pipe, a damaged fitting, and the source of the leak. He made the repairs with a more robust fitting, and I have taken additional steps to prevent root pressure from causing a repeat. My water usage has dropped dramatically.
I am pleased to clear the city of my suggestions of a swindle. But I do not clear the city of some responsibility for my suspicions and doubts. As the lead member of the A-Team said to me, the Water Section should have investigated my complaint immediately because the fluctuations were anomalous and rare. I suggested that it should have taken a problem-solving approach instead of a one-size-fits-all response to my complaint. My take-away: the Water Section has a poor attitude and takes a lazy approach to customer service, and fails to make the extra effort in the first place for everyone’s benefit.
To the A-Team, great thanks for a job well—finally—done!
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