Why Is My Water Bill So High in Citrus Heights?

Start with the toilet. A worn flapper is the most common hidden water waster in any home. Next suspects are a slab or underground leak, a leaking irrigation zone, and a failing water heater. In Citrus Heights, where CHWD charges about $1.35 per 748 gallons, even a small continuous leak adds up fast.

Check in this order

1. Running toilet. The number one culprit

A worn toilet flapper is the biggest hidden water waster in any home. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, wait 15 minutes without flushing, and check the bowl. Color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking. A five-dollar part wasting thousands of gallons a month. If you hear the tank refilling long after a flush, same diagnosis.

2. Slab or underground leak

Warm spots on the floor, the sound of running water with everything off, or damp patches that keep coming back point to a pressurized line leaking under the slab or yard. These run 24 hours a day. See slab leak detection.

3. Irrigation leak

A cracked sprinkler head or split lateral line can lose more water in one cycle than the whole house uses in a day. Walk each zone while it runs and look for geysers, fogging heads, or one suspiciously green strip of lawn.

4. Water heater leak

Check the pan and the floor around the heater, and look at the temperature-pressure relief valve discharge line. A slow weep here is easy to miss in a garage.

5. Meter error. Rare, check last

Meters do fail, but it is uncommon. Rule out everything above first, then ask your water provider about a meter test.

What a spike really costs in Citrus Heights

Most of Citrus Heights is served by the Citrus Heights Water District, which charges about $1.35 per unit. One unit is 748 gallons. A 10-unit jump on your bill is roughly $13.50 in water charges alone, before sewer fees. A toilet leaking just a gallon an hour wastes over 700 gallons a month. About one full billing unit, every month, for a five-dollar flapper. A pressurized slab leak can waste many times that, around the clock.

What to do right now

  1. Do the two-minute meter test. It confirms a leak faster than anything else.
  2. Do the toilet dye test above. It takes 15 minutes and costs nothing.
  3. Walk your irrigation zones while they run.
  4. If the meter moves with everything off and you cannot isolate it, call AquaTrace Leak Detection at (123) 456-7890. Our high water bill investigation finds the source instead of guessing.

Also worth asking: call your water provider and ask whether they offer a leak adjustment on the bill. Policies change, so ask directly. Do not assume a credit is automatic.

Frequently asked questions

My bill doubled but I do not see any water. Where is it going?

Underground or under the slab. Pressurized leaks in buried lines drain straight into the soil. Fiddyment soils around Citrus Heights shift and can open voids that swallow the water without a surface puddle. No visible water does not mean no leak.

Could my irrigation timer be the problem, not a leak?

Yes. Check this before anything expensive. A controller stuck on the wrong program, or a zone running twice a day after a power outage reset, looks exactly like a leak on the bill. Verify run times first.

How much water does a running toilet actually waste?

A moderately leaking flapper can waste 200 or more gallons a day. That is over 6,000 gallons a month, or about 8 billing units. At CHWD's roughly $1.35 per unit, one bad flapper can add around $10 or more to the water portion of the bill every month.

Should I call the water district or a leak detector first?

Do the meter test first. It takes two minutes. If the meter moves with everything off, call a leak detector; the district will usually tell you the leak is on your side of the meter anyway. If the meter is still, ask the district about the meter itself and your usage history.

Can a slab leak really raise my bill that much?

Yes. It is one of the most expensive leaks because it never stops. A pinhole in a pressurized copper line under the slab flows 24 hours a day, and because the water goes into the ground, there is often no visible sign until the bill arrives.

Related

Local water providers

If you need to shut off water at the street or report a main-line problem, check with your water provider first: Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) serves much of Citrus Heights, and Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD) serves nearby Sacramento County areas. Your bill shows which district serves your home.

Think you have a leak?

Call AquaTrace Leak Detection to describe what you are seeing in Citrus Heights and get a plan to find it.

Call (123) 456-7890

Last updated: October 25, 2026.

Think you have a hidden leak?

Call now and describe what you're seeing. We'll plan the fastest way to find it.

Call (123) 456-7890