If you received a high water bill in the mail that wasn’t caused by a lot of lawn watering or high usage events (like filling up a swimming pool), you may wonder if this is being caused by a slab leak.The first thing to do is analyze your water bill and make sure the increase in cost is actually due to a steady increase in usage. Sometimes, a utility price change can throw people off. It is also helpful to compare the usage of the current month with historical seasonal usage trends. If a further investigation into the bill and water usage history still leaves a mystery, the next step is to rule out any above-ground leaks. Double check all of your faucets and fixtures to make sure none of them leak. It is very common to have a lightly running toilet that does not get noticed for quite some time. This can use a surprising amount of water! Sometimes outdoor hose faucets or guest bathroom tubs will also have a slow leak that does not get caught right away. After making sure no above-ground fixtures are leaking, you will also want to walk around the yard and search for any soggy spots where the irrigation/sprinkler lines are. A leaking sprinkler solenoid valve is another common source of high water usage. (Watch this YouTube video on how to isolate the irrigation system.) If everything still checks out, check your water meter. It is usually located under a metal or plastic circular lid out by the street. Check the flow indicator to see if it has any constant movement to it, however small it may be. Another way to check is to write down the current reading on the meter, wait for about 15 minutes (without using any water), and then go back to see if the reading has changed at all. If the meter is spinning, that indicates a leak somewhere on the property. There are still many checks that should be made before this is determined to be a slab leak. Although it is not very common, sometimes a slab leak can be small enough that the water meter does not register any flow. Ergo, if the meter is not spinning, there could still be a slab leak. In summary, checking the meter and the water bill is a good starting place in the absence of other forms of evidence, but it is not very conclusive by itself.