Kingston · Kitsap County

Kingston: My Water Bill Doubled and Nothing Changed

A bill that jumps with no change in use almost always means water is leaving the system somewhere. Here's how to find out where.

Call (206) 354-9906 How we fix it

Two water meter box lids exposed beneath a pine tree after clearing brush

"Why is my water bill suddenly so high" is a question we hear from Kingston every month, and the answer here usually involves brittle well lines on Indianola Road parcels and roots and the odd boulder off Miller Bay Road. 360 Leak Finders is up Highway 3 and across on 104, and we diagnose high water bill before anything gets dug on long gravel driveways through fir.

Why this happens in Kingston

Start with a running toilet. A flapper or fill valve that doesn't seat lets water run silently from tank to bowl. Around Arness Park and the ferry terminal the housing dates from 1970s-to-1990s acreage with a newer core near the ferry, which makes this the likeliest answer to high water bill.

Then irrigation. A cracked mainline, a valve stuck open, or a drip zone that never shuts off can run a meter all night. We've seen it near the ferry terminal more than once, usually on 400-foot poly lines under gravel drives.

Don't overlook a leak on the buried service line. Galvanized steel from the 1940s, copper from the 60s and 70s, polybutylene from the 80s, brittle early polyethylene: all of it fails eventually, and in Kitsap's till and outwash it can leak for months with no wet spot. On Kingston properties from 1970s-to-1990s acreage with a newer core near the ferry it comes up more than you'd think.

Before you call

Kingston's acreage lots along Miller Bay Road, Indianola Road and South Kingston Road have the longest runs in North Kitsap short of Bainbridge, and the hardpan under them stays saturated all winter.

First steps for high water bill near Lindvog Road: close the house main shutoff and watch again: still moving means the buried line. Isolate irrigation at its own shutoff and re-test. Pull last year's bill for the same month and compare. Then call; the rest is a locate through hardpan saturated from November to May, not guesswork.

What happens next

When it's the buried line, the fix in Kingston is high water bill investigation: we check irrigation, isolate the house through beach deposits along the cove at the marked spot on shoreline lots on Miller Bay, and meter test. Meter flow timing and and the mini excavator ride on the first trip so it's finished the same visit.

Appletree Cove, Lindvog Road, Highway 104: near any of them, high water bill gets the same crew and the same equipment. Up Highway 3 and across on 104, day or night, with the mini excavator on the trailer for ferry-town lots near Highway 104.

Ready when you are

One call, one crew, from the diagnosis to the restored yard. 360 Leak Finders, (206) 354-9906, for high water bill from White Horse to Miller Bay Road.

From the field

What we usually find

Water meter box exposed in overgrown brush with a narrow trench leading away from it

FAQ

High water bill in Kingston: questions

Why does high water bill seem worse in Kingston than elsewhere?

Roots and the odd boulder off Miller Bay Road under long gravel driveways through fir either hides water or carries it somewhere misleading, and brittle well lines on Indianola Road parcels from 1970s-to-1990s acreage with a newer core near the ferry fails quietly. Together they make high water bill slow to notice.

Can you come after hours for high water bill near Miller Bay Road?

Yes. Lights, pumps and meter flow timing and ride on the truck, and up Highway 3 and across on 104.

Who's responsible if high water bill is on my side of the Kitsap PUD meter?

The owner. Kitsap PUD's responsibility ends at the meter; the private line under wooded acreage along South Kingston Road is yours, and that's what we locate on and fix.

Do I need to dig before you arrive?

Please don't. On shoreline lots on Miller Bay the cause of high water bill is rarely under the visible water, and an open hole in beach deposits along the cove is a hazard. We check irrigation first.

Could high water bill be something inside the house?

Sometimes. The meter test with the house isolated settles it in minutes, and if it's indoors we point you to a plumber instead of digging wooded acreage along South Kingston Road.

High water bill in Kingston?

We answer 24 hours a day. We locate before we dig, and we handle the whole job with our own crew and equipment.

Call (206) 354-9906