Start with the bill, not the pipes
Hidden leaks are often small and steady. A bill that jumps with no change in your habits is the signal, and the pattern of the jump tells you where to look. A toilet that runs all day adds a little to every billing day, while a broken sprinkler line adds a lot on the days the system runs.
Pull the last three bills and compare the gallons used, not the dollar total. If the gallon figure climbed and stayed up, the leak is constant. If it spiked once and dropped, think about a one-time event such as a filled pool, a long sprinkler test or a hose left running.
Four checks that narrow down a hidden leak
Work through these in order. Each one removes a suspect.
Read the daily usage chart
Log in to the city's Sensus Analytics Customer Portal, which shows usage in near real time. Look at the hours when everyone is asleep or out. Usage that stays above zero then means water is escaping.
Check every toilet
Put a few drops of food coloring in each tank, wait ten minutes and look in the bowl without flushing. Color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking.
Run each sprinkler zone by hand
Walk the yard while each zone runs and look for geysers, soggy ground and heads that sink or spray sideways. Turn the controller to its manual setting first.
Test the meter against your main valve
With all use off, watch the meter dial for a short time. Then close the house main valve and watch again. If the meter still moves, the loss is on the pipe between the meter and the house.
Water use is high and you cannot find why?
Call Ocoee Express Plumbing and tell us what the meter and the bill are showing.
Leak source, how it shows on the bill and what fixes it
Matching the bill pattern to the source saves a lot of guessing.
| Leak source | How it shows up | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet flapper or fill valve | A steady rise every day, night and day alike | Replace the flapper or fill valve |
| Irrigation line or head | Extra use on the days and hours the sprinklers run, wet ground in the yard | Repair the broken line or head, then retest the zone |
| Dripping faucet or shower valve | A smaller steady rise, often with a visible drip | Replace the washer, cartridge or valve |
| Buried line between meter and house | Meter moves with the house main valve shut, sometimes a soft wet patch in the yard | Locate the break with leak detection, then dig and repair |
| Supply line that has burst or split | A sudden big jump and visible water or damp walls | Shut off the main valve and arrange burst pipe repair |
Ocoee's Leak Detection page names toilet flappers, faucets and showerheads as common leaks and says a leak can waste hundreds of gallons a day.
Signs a leak is outdoors or in the irrigation system
Yard leaks are easy to miss because the water goes into the ground and out of sight.
Green strips or lush patches in dry weather
A leaking line feeds one stretch of lawn better than the rest.
Soft ground near the meter or along the house
Standing wet spots when it has not rained suggest a line below.
Low pressure at hose bibs or sprinkler heads
Water lost upstream reduces what reaches the end of the line.
Irrigation that runs when the ground is already wet
A controller that follows a fixed schedule wastes water in rainy weeks.
What Ocoee tells customers about leaks, rain and irrigation
The City of Ocoee's rate sheet effective October 1, 2026 prices residential water in tiers that step up at 6,000, 12,000, 18,000, 24,000 and 30,000 gallons, and each step costs more per gallon than the one before. A steady leak can push a home into a higher tier, which is why a leak can raise the bill by more than the lost gallons alone suggest. Check the current rate sheet for exact numbers.
The city's Water Conservation page says Ocoee receives about 50 inches of rain a year and recommends no irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Reclaimed water is not under the watering restrictions, but the city still makes that recommendation. If your yard is on reclaimed water, a sprinkler leak will show on that separate account, so look at the reclaimed line item too.
We could not find a published Ocoee policy for adjusting a bill after a leak. Do not assume one exists. Call Utility Billing at 407-905-3191 to ask, and keep your repair paperwork. Ocoee also says the customer maintains the pipes from the meter to the house, so the repair of a leak on your side falls to you.
Source type: City of Ocoee 2026 rate sheet, Water Conservation, Customer Portal and Utility Customer Service Request Form
After a storm or heavy rain week
Storm weeks change water habits and can mask a leak. Rain cuts outdoor use, so a bill that should drop but stays flat is a clue. Fallen limbs and debris can also snap sprinkler lines, so walk the yard once the weather clears and run each zone.
If a check turns up active water loss you cannot stop, close the main valve and call. Ocoee Express Plumbing dispatches licensed plumbers day and night for burst pipes, and covers areas such as Windermere and Pine Hills.
High water bill questions from Ocoee residents
We could not find a published adjustment policy on the city's rates page, billing page or leak page. Ask Utility Billing at 407-905-3191 and have the repair receipt ready.
Check for a toilet flapper, an irrigation leak or a buried line, in that order. The usage view in the city portal shows whether water runs when nobody is home.
Ocoee supplies reclaimed water for irrigation, and its rate sheet lists a reclaim charge separate from water and sewer. The city says there are times when reclaim is unavailable. Call 407-905-3159 for irrigation problems or to ask whether your address has reclaim.
Under the city's utility form, the city maintains the system up to and including the meter, and the customer maintains the delivery system and fixtures from the meter to the house. So yes, that pipe is yours.
Ocoee lists plumbing among the work that needs a building permit. A small fixture fix may differ from a line repair, so confirm scope with the Building Division at 407-905-3104.