Master Meter Water Loss Investigation

A commercial water bill is a blunt instrument. It tells the owner that a certain number of gallons passed the master meter and nothing about where they went. On a site with several buildings, dozens of fixtures, irrigation, and a private main that's forty years old, a bill that has crept up over a few billing cycles could be any of those, and the usual response, calling the landscaper, calling a plumber, replacing a few flappers, often costs more than the water and solves nothing.

A master meter investigation is the systematic version. We read the meter overnight, when a property's legitimate use is lowest, and get a hard number for the continuous loss. We isolate the irrigation and read again. We isolate buildings at their shutoffs where they exist and read again, attributing the loss to a building branch or to the main between buildings. Where the loss is on a building, a quick fixture survey usually finds it. Where it's on the main or the irrigation, we go to acoustic locating.

The product is a short written report: how much water is leaving, where, what it's costing at the current rate, and what it will take to fix. For a property manager that's a work order with a number attached instead of a mystery. For a board it's the start of the reserve conversation about a main that's the same age everywhere. And for a chronically high bill that turned out to be a leak, it's the documentation most utilities want before they'll consider an adjustment.

When a property needs this

• A commercial or multi-family bill that has risen with no explanation
• A property manager who needs a number before approving repairs
• A board that wants to know whether the main is a maintenance or a capital problem
• A property under contract, as part of due diligence
• An irrigation system suspected of running the meter

How the job runs

1. Overnight read. Master meter read at the quietest hours with a timed low-flow measurement. The loss is quantified.
2. Irrigation isolation. Irrigation shut at its own valve and the meter re-read. Irrigation is the culprit on a surprising share of these.
3. Building attribution. Buildings isolated one at a time where shutoffs exist. The loss is assigned to the main or to a branch.
4. Fixture survey or locate. A building loss gets a quick fixture survey. A main or irrigation loss goes to acoustic locating.
5. Report. Gallons per day, the dollar figure at the current rate, the attributed location, and the recommended fix.

What the owner or board receives

• Quantified loss in gallons per day and dollars per month
• Attribution to main, branch, irrigation or fixture
• Located leak position where applicable
• Written report suitable for a utility adjustment request
• Recommended fix with scope

What shapes the scope

• Number of buildings and whether they have working shutoffs
• Whether irrigation has its own isolation valve
• Access to the master meter and valves after hours
• Size of the site