Johannesburg Water Contact Accounts Department Faulty Meter Queries Problem Dispute

Possible causes of high bills for consumption of water

• There is a burst pipe on your side of the water meter.
• The meter reader has not visited your property, and an estimated reading has been used by the City to work out your bill.
• The reading has been estimated because access to the meter has been blocked, or the meter can’t be found, or the dials are obscured.
• The meter is faulty and is over-reading
• You refilled your big swimming pool.
• There are many people in your house and each one takes frequent baths.
• Your garden was watered a lot during the month.
• An outside tap was left running and this was only discovered hours or days later. Small children can sometimes turn on a tap and not bother to turn it off.
• The meter was replaced and no final reading was taken of the old meter, so an estimate was used.
• The estimate that the City used for the month (or several months) was excessive and out of line with your normal consumption pattern.