High Water Bill in Costa Mesa? How to Find Out Whether It Is a Leak, a Running Toilet or Something Under the Slab
A sudden spike on your Costa Mesa water bill usually has a simple cause. A step-by-step way to rule out irrigation, toilets and billing quirks before you start…
Few things get a Costa Mesa homeowner's attention like a water bill that suddenly doubles. Before you panic, know that most spikes have ordinary causes. Before you ignore it, know that a hidden leak in an older slab home can keep the bill high month after month. The trick is working through the possibilities in order.
Start with the bill itself
Look at the usage, not just the total. Water districts measure use in billing units, and the bill shows how many you used compared with the same period last year. Most of Costa Mesa is served by Mesa Water District, with some areas on the east side served by Irvine Ranch Water District. If your usage line jumped while the rate stayed the same, something in the house or yard used more water. If the usage is normal but the total went up, it may be a rate change or a longer billing period.
Rule out the usual suspects
- Irrigation. A broken sprinkler head, a stuck valve or a timer reset after a power outage can run every night without anyone noticing. Walk the yard early in the morning and look for soggy spots.
- Toilets. A flapper that does not seal lets water trickle into the bowl around the clock. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait fifteen minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means a leak.
- Guests, pools and projects. A refilled pool, a pressure-washed driveway or house guests can explain a one-time jump.
- Water softener or filter systems that regenerate too often.
Use your meter as a leak detector
Turn off every fixture and appliance, then find your meter, usually in a box near the street. Most meters have a small leak indicator, a triangle or dial that spins with even tiny flow. If it moves with everything off, water is going somewhere. Close the main shutoff at the house. If the indicator stops, the leak is inside the home. If it keeps moving, the leak is on the service line between the meter and the house.
When the leak is inside
Many homes on the Eastside, in Mesa Verde and in College Park were built in the 1950s and 1960s on concrete slabs, with copper supply lines running under the floor. When those lines pinhole, the water can disappear into the soil. Warm spots on the floor, the sound of running water with everything off, or cracked tile are clues. Electronic leak detection can pinpoint the spot without breaking random holes in the slab.
Repair or repipe?
One leak in an otherwise healthy system is usually a repair. A second or third slab leak in a few years suggests the rest of the pipe is wearing the same way. Rerouting supply lines through the attic and walls with PEX takes water out of the slab entirely. Costa Mesa requires a plumbing permit for that work, and we handle the permit and inspection.
Related reading
Learn how pros pinpoint leaks in slab leak detection and in our broader leak detection guide. Neighbors can visit Newport Beach, Irvine and Tustin, or see the full map at repipeinc.com.
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Written by Repipe OC · CSLB #1087885 C-36 · 23821 Hillhurst Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 · (949) 524-2362