What a Leak Really Costs on a Dawsonville Water Bill

Why leaks hurt more here

Every gallon that passes a City of Dawsonville meter on a sewer account is billed twice: once as water and once as sewer. Under the rates that took effect July 1, 2026, the sewer rate per thousand gallons is well above the water rate in every tier. So a leak costs far more than its water charge suggests. The table below shows the arithmetic for a common case.

How big is a typical leak?

A dripping faucet wastes a few gallons a day. A toilet with a worn flapper that runs silently can waste far more, often in the range of the 100 gallons a day used in our example, and a toilet stuck running loudly can waste several hundred. An irrigation line cracked underground or a slab leak can waste more again. The EPA's WaterSense program runs an annual Fix a Leak Week because household leaks add up to a very large amount of water nationally, most of it from fixtures that are cheap to repair.

To size your own leak, read the meter at night after the last water use and again in the morning. The difference, divided by the hours, gives gallons per hour; multiply by 24 for a daily figure.

The tier effect

A leak also pushes usage up the tiers. In our example, a household that normally uses 5,000 gallons moves into the 5,001-to-10,000 tier, where both water and sewer rates are higher. A household that already uses 9,000 gallons would see part of a leak billed in the top tier above 10,000 gallons. The tables show both tiers.

The sewer side

Here are the sewer tiers that apply to the same gallons. Inside the city, the jump from the first tier to the second is larger on sewer than on water, so the sewer cost of a leak grows faster as usage rises.

Customers outside the city limits

Outside-city customers on City water pay higher tier rates for both water and sewer, so the same leak costs more. Customers on septic pay only the water side, but a leak into a septic system adds load to the drain field, which has its own cost over time.

Finding the leak

Start with toilets: a few drops of food coloring in the tank, fifteen minutes without flushing, and any color in the bowl means the flapper leaks. Then faucets, shower valves, the water heater relief valve discharge, the ice maker line, outdoor spigots and irrigation zones. If nothing inside is leaking but the meter still moves with everything off, close the main shut-off at the house; if the meter keeps moving, the leak is in the service line between the meter and the house, which is usually the owner's to fix.

The high water bill article has the full test and what to ask the City's utility billing office.

A quick way to estimate your own leak

Read the meter at bedtime and again first thing in the morning, with no water used in between. Divide the gallons by the hours and multiply by 24 for a daily figure, then by 30 for a month. Find where your normal monthly usage falls in the City's tiers, add the leak gallons, and price the extra gallons at the tier rates they land in, for both water and sewer. The tables on this page have every rate you need. Our worked example used 100 gallons a day on top of a 5,000-gallon month; a larger leak or a higher starting usage will cost more per gallon because more of it falls in higher tiers.

If the overnight reading does not change, there is no continuous leak, though an intermittent one, such as a toilet that runs for a few minutes every hour, may still show over a longer test. Try a test over a whole day when the house is empty.

Leaks that do not show on the bill

Not every leak runs through the meter in a way that is easy to spot. A slow drip under a sink can rot a cabinet floor without adding much to the bill. A leaking drain line, as opposed to a supply line, does not move the meter at all, because the water has already been metered; it shows up as stains, odors or soft flooring. Check under sinks, around toilets and behind the washing machine a few times a year, and look in the crawl space if you have one. Early repairs are cheaper on every count.

When a plumber is worth calling

Call a plumber when the meter test shows a leak you cannot find, when the leak is under a slab or inside a wall, or when it is in the service line in the yard. Leak location can sometimes be done without opening walls or digging long trenches. Ask whether location is priced separately from the repair. Tell the plumber your meter readings and the shut-off test result; that saves time.

Repair before it gets bigger

A flapper or fill valve is an inexpensive part. A hidden leak under a slab or in a wall is a plumber's job, and replacing concealed piping is work that usually needs a permit. Inside the city, permits come from Planning and Zoning; outside, from Dawson County. Our permit article explains which office applies.

If the leak is on the street side of the meter, or at the meter itself, report it to the City; that is the utility's equipment.

Sources for this article: City of Dawsonville: Approved minutes, City Council meeting of June 15, 2026, with adopted Ordinance No. 02-2026 (Exhibit B) (PDF); City of Dawsonville: Utilities; U.S. EPA WaterSense: Fix a Leak Week. Checked 2026-10-29.