It behooves property owners to check their water meters. On May 18, Water Superintendent Tom Nelson reported to the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission that a small motel/cabin business owner had a water leak under the ground that resulted in a $2,100 water charge for the month.
The owner was alerted to a potential problem when guests reported poor water pressure in their cabins. Unfortunately, at least 400,000 gallons had already leaked over the course of what Nelson estimated to be about 10 days.
Similar problems can happen with individual homes as well. Nelson said a leaky toilet in someone’s house once went through 4,000 gallons in less than 24 hours.
In some situations in which water has been leaking from an underground pipe that leads into a building, the PUC has granted relief from having to pay sewer charges since the water could not have entered the sewer system. The property owners still have to pay for the lost water, however.
How does a property owner avoid such expensive problems? Nelson recommends that everyone be familiar with the infrastructure of their buildings and that they know how much water they normally use in a month – and check their meters.
City Hall tries to help tip people off if they become aware of unusual utility use. Utilities Administrative Specialist Jan Smith tries to notify property owners right away if usage seems unusually high after a meter reading. “I always call,” she said.
Smith urges property owners to have people check on their homes when they are gone for extended periods of time. She also tries to get contact information for homeowners when they’re gone so that she can notify them if she sees that something doesn’t look right on their meter reading.
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