High Water Bill in Sun City? Check the Irrigation

Why did EPCOR send a high water use notice?

Because its Sun City tariff requires it to watch each account. Under the Sun City Water District tariff, EPCOR tracks use and contacts the customer when it looks excessive for that billing period and time of year, by phone, email, mail or in person, with no action needed to receive it.

The notice is meant to be useful, not a penalty. The tariff says it should explain common problems and solutions, and it lists the usual causes. Several are outdoor:

• irrigation system valves or sprinkler heads that may be leaking;
• sprinklers watering the house, sidewalk or street;
• a landscape project or a new lawn;
• leaking pools or spas, and leaks around pumps.

Indoor causes such as running toilets, extra guests or more laundry are on the list too. EPCOR's conservation tips add that an estimated 70 percent of an Arizona family's water use happens outdoors.

Is it a leak or just the season?

Separate the two by comparing the same billing period last year and by testing the meter. Plants use three to five times as much water in hot, dry weather as in winter, says University of Arizona Extension, so a July bill rising over April is normal. A rise against last July, or a meter that moves when nothing is on, is not.

Check the controller as well. A second program left running since a summer reprogram, or a seasonal percentage pushed above 100, doubles watering without anything breaking. A meter test that holds steady with the irrigation off points to the schedule, not a leak.

What free help does EPCOR offer?

More than most people use. The tariff's high-use inquiry practice says calls are handled by staff trained on common causes and on leak checks a customer can do, and that a trained field technician is sent on request, or when EPCOR thinks it warranted, to verify consumption and run a leak detection inspection.

On request EPCOR also provides a free audit kit. Its kits page puts a meter flow bag and a drip gauge in the box alongside dye tablets for the toilet tank, a tip wheel and a landscape watering card; ask by email and quote the account number. If you suspect the meter itself, the self-audit practice lets EPCOR confirm its accuracy, with meter testing fees applying.

Where do irrigation leaks hide on a Sun City lot?

In places a walk around the house misses. A gravel or decomposed granite bed can swallow a slow lateral leak for months, and a split drip line under rock shows nothing at the surface until a shrub dies or a weed patch thrives.

Housing type changes the search too. The patio homes across Del Webb Blvd were built with shared walls, and the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum notes they have no homeowners association because there are no common grounds. Water seeping along a shared wall, or into a neighbour's planter, still traces back to whichever lot's line is leaking. Duplexes and lake lots by Viewpoint and Dawn Lake bring the same question of whose pipe it is.

How do you narrow the leak before digging?

Use timing. EPA WaterSense treats standing water that shows up while nothing is running as a hint of a buried leak, and it asks you to confirm every valve closes. Work through it in order:

1. With everything indoors off and the irrigation idle, watch the meter; the full test is in Checking Your EPCOR Meter for a Leak in Sun City.
2. Run one station at a time and look for spray on walls or paving, a bubbling head, or a wet patch that grows.
3. After each station stops, check whether the lowest head keeps draining for a long time; that suggests a valve that will not close, covered in Sprinkler Won't Turn Off? A Sun City Valve Guide.
4. Note the station, the spot and the time, so a repair starts in the right trench.

Next step in Sun City

When the meter moves with everything off, or a station clearly loses water, book irrigation leak detection in Sun City. The general method is on the irrigation leak detection page, and every local service is on the Sun City service area page.