Household Water Use
The Regional District of Nanaimo uses water meters to calculate and charge for water use. If your water bill is higher than expected, it may be due to activities using more water than expected, or a leak somewhere in your home or yard.
Calculate Your Household's Water Use
The Alliance for Water Efficiency has a Water Calculator to help you find out how much water your household uses, and how you can reduce that usage:
High Water Bills
The RDN uses an inclining block rate structure for metered water billing to encourage conservation. Therefore, the more water you use, the higher the unit cost for water will be. For more information, please review the User Rates.
The number one cause for high water bills is excessive lawn and garden watering. Many people are under the mistaken assumption that an automatic irrigation system saves water and money. In most systems, the only item saved is time. The average irrigation system uses approximately 45 litres per minute while watering a lawn. That's a cubic meter (1000L) of water every 22 minutes. How long and often does your irrigation system run?
If you still think your water bill is higher than it should be, you may have a leak.
Water Meters
Water meters use a simple turbine wheel that measures the flow. When meters break down, they either stop recording or record less than actual usage. Your water meter will never record more water than what is used.
If your water meter is running while you are not using any water, you should check your faucets and pipes, watch for drips and replace any faulty parts. You may have a leak.
Leaks
The best method to determine if there is a leak is to:
- Turn off all sources of water in the house and garden.
- Locate the water meter (located inside a roadbox near the property line).
- Check the dial on the meter for movement.
- If no movement is observed, record the present reading and wait 60 minutes, read the meter again.
- If the meter shows movement or has shown usage in 60 minutes, something is leaking.
The toilet is a common source of unnoticed leaks. Undetected, hundreds of litres of water can be wasted each day. Often leaks occur when the toilet is out of adjustment or parts are worn.
To tell if your toilet is leaking, listen carefully to it. If you hear running water, your toilet is leaking.
You can also add food colouring or dye to the toilet tank and wait 20 minutes. If coloured water appears in the toilet bowl, a leak is present. Toilet leaks are not hard to fix, and you can ask for advice at your local hardware store or call a plumber.
In certain circumstances, the RDN will credit your account with the estimated amount wasted. Once discovered, the leak must be promptly fixed and then verified by RDN staff. See the Leak Policy and User Fee Adjustment Form.
Water Pressure
If you are concerned about your water pressure, check to see if your property has a water pressure regulator (a PRV- Pressure Reducing Valve) and that it is functioning correctly. You can ask for advice at your local hardware store or call a plumber. Also check that all valves are fully opened.
If everything has been checked and pressure is still low, contact the RDN Utilities office at 250-248-4914.