Excessive water bill

I own vacant home to be renovated in 2020. Water bills ranged from $25 to $900 within 6 month period. When city inspector checked meter, it was actively running while submerged in over 15 inches of mud and water. He dug out meter from connection, cleaned out sludge and reconnected back to meter box. A few hours later, meter was not running as fast as before. By end of day, we tested meter by flushing toilet, meter ran for a minute then stopped as no more water was being used.
My bill this month was $25, normal amt while vacant. We have no leaks on the property, all plumbing is less than 10 yrs old. Pressure regulator in basement was replaced last year. My past due amount is $2500. Plumber says since property has minimal usage and runs downhill- underground main water line puts pressure on meter causing it to be faulty with inaccurate usage numbers. What is my responsibility to water company now since we know we did not use the water? They just sent a disconnect notice.

 

Water doesn't "Run Downhill" in a closed system. It must go somewhere. Likely it was leaking at the union of the meter and was fixed when the city fixed their faulty equipment. You should contact them and explain what has happened and ask for a rebate or at least a reduction in your bill.

 

Anything past the meter is yours. It happened quite a lot in S. Florida after all water meters were upgraded. My neighbor, mine own meter, my sons and a daughter of a friend all leaked right at the meter and I fixed each one. For my son he had a leak for months and when one bill was sky high and I noticed that the ground was soggy, we found the leak on his side of the meter. He called the water company and they adjusted the bill to the average use for the last few months. Worth a try. The city worker's explanation makes no sense "underground main water line puts pressure on meter causing it to be faulty with inaccurate usage numbers" but worth a try to use that statement.

 

Seattle Public Utility will give you a 1 time credit towards the sewage bill if the leak is in your equipment before it gets to the house and didn't go thru the sewer system. They still charge you for the water used just not the sewage treatment.