Mesa Verde Resident Experiences Five-Star Field Customer Service – Twice!

One day last summer, Mesa Verde resident, Brenda, arrived home to a doorhanger from Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®) informing her that her water usage was moderately higher than typical. Attached to the doorhanger were toilet leak detection dye tablets suggesting she use them to see if she had a toilet leak.

This was not the first time Brenda had heard from Mesa Water about unusual water usage, so she knew to take it seriously. When she first bought her home three years ago and the home was still vacant, Mesa Water notified her about a tremendous spike in water usage. Brenda was out of town at the time and explained her situation, so a field customer service representative went over and turned her meter off to stop the waste until she could take care of it when she returned to town. Turns out there was a broken sprinkler head that had been gushing like a geyser!

Following the unusual water use notification, Brenda used the toilet leak detection tablets and ruled out a toilet leak. Since she couldn’t locate a leak source, she had her handyman come out to inspect the rest of her fixtures. When he determined the leak was not coming from any of Brenda’s indoor plumbing, she called a plumber to investigate her outdoor hose bibs and irrigation system.

Finding no broken sprinkler heads or valve leaks, the plumber checked the water meter and sure enough – the low flow indicator was spinning, so even though all indoor and outdoor water was off, water was flowing through the meter. The plumber then used a moisture sensor probe throughout the yard and located the wet zone. The cause was a below-ground broken irrigation pipe. Brenda had her gardener make the repair the next day.

“I was so grateful to receive the notice and toilet leak detection dye tablets because it helped me quickly determine that there was more going on and I needed to call a plumber to help find the root cause,” said Brenda.

With every meter read, Mesa Water’s Meter Reading Device compares a customer’s last bill, as well as usage for that same period in the prior year (if applicable). When one of our field customer service representatives was reading Brenda’s meter, the device flagged an increase in water usage. This led staff to investigate Brenda’s usage history further and then notify her of the increased usage.

Sometimes a leak is slow and gradual, so customers should keep an eye on their unit usage to make sure it seems correct. Remember that summer usage tends to be higher than winter usage.

“What I appreciate over the past three years – having moved from a townhome to a single-family home built in 1962 with old pipes and a large yard – Mesa Water is on top of ensuring that I am not unknowingly wasting water. They immediately let me know on two occasions that I may have a potential leak that I was completely unaware of – that’s five-star customer service!”