WaterSense's Fix A Leak Tips

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Combating Building Water Waste

Fix A Leak week is officially the third week of March, but leaks can and do happen anytime. These tips and the 10 Minute Leak Challenge(PDF, 1MB)  will help track down and repair leaks before they take you by surprise. 

How the AMI Portal Can Help You

Sign up for Leak Alerts in your AMI portal to set your own thresholds for leaks (follow the photos below). Note, water use is measured in units of 100 gallons at a time.

Start at the MyMeters Login Page or walk through the following photos to set up leak alerts for water. Leak alerts can also be set up for electric and gas; however, these should be used a budgetary feature for usage and not to detect a potential gas leak. 

  1. From the Department of Public Utilities home page, select "Manage My Utilities Account."
  2. Select "Track My Utility Usage." You will be redirected to the Automated Meter Infrastructure explainer page. 
  3. Click on the ladpu.com/mymeter link in the upper right corner under "Visit AMI Portal." You will be redirected to a Customer Portal login page. 
  4. Login in with your credentials if you have an existing account. If you have not set up an account to access the AMI portal, click "Need to set up an account?" near the bottom center of the login box. Note, the AMI portal is a separate from the utility bill portal and the two are not linked. 
  5. Once logged in, you are now seeing you AMI Dashboard. You can change the displayed utility but clicking "Customer" below your name. You can see where your usage compares to the previous bill and the previous year. If you have existing alerts activated (as the below example does), you can see a history of alerts.
  6. To set up alerts, select "Settings" from the set of options on the left of your screen. Then select "Usage Alerts." 
  7. Click the "Enabled" check box to activate alerts. Your best alert tools for detecting water leaks will be the "Multi-Day Alert" and "Vacation Alerts." All alert options will provide you an averaged usage within a time frame, to help you determine where to set your usage alerts. When selecting "Vacation Alerts" be sure to account for what your irrigation system uses if it will be active while you are gone. 
  8. Click "Save" once alerts are tailored to your needs. 
  9. Under "Usage Alerts" on the left tool bar, you can select "Alert Recipients" to change/add who will receive notifications of alerts. 
  10. Scroll down to see what your options are if you've received an alert. 

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I've received an alert! Now what??

Depending on the alert and where you are, consider the following options: 

  • Take a breath, a leak in a home is very rarely flood-like. However, left unattended, leaks could significantly impact your water bill and potentially cause issues and damage to a property (erosion, mold, soft floors and ceilings, etc.).
  • Billing Cycle Usage Alert: you're probably just using more water than the last cycle and it's not an actual alert, but double check the amounts listed in the alert. 
  • Is a toilet running? This may be audible or not. Put a little bit of food coloring into the tank (the upper bit), wait 5-10 minutes and look for colored water in the bowl part. A quiet, slow leak can waste 30 gallons a day.
  • Is there a steady drip or flow from a faucet? Even the tiniest trickle can add up over a month.
  • Did a hose or sprinkler get left on outside, maybe overnight? 
  • Not finding anything obvious? Unseen, underground landscape irrigation is a common source of unexpected water bills. Look for broken fixture heads or underperforming ones (could indicated a broken line). 
  • On vacation when your alert came through? Have a trusted family or friend check around your house. If this isn't an option, call the Customer Care Center (505-662-8333) to talk about having your water turned off until you get back to prevent further water waste and potential damage. 

 

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