When we moved to Puerto Rico, we were ready for lush views, fresh fruit, and island life on our terms. But I made one little mistake — and it cost me big.
I forgot to shut off the city water, and now I’m staring down a $1,000 bill I didn’t see coming. In some rural mountain communities of Puerto Rico, the government or municipalities provide "community water" — untreated spring or mountain-fed water that flows freely to residents. It's an informal yet vital part of rural infrastructure, meant to ensure that those living in remote areas always have access to water, especially in places where public water infrastructure is limited or unreliable. This system is often maintained locally and not metered, which makes it a practical and cost-effective option — until you forget to switch it off and your pressurized city water begins flowing backward into the free community water system. Instead of using water, we were unintentionally supplying it — the AAA meter was tracking gallons of city water that were bleeding out through the connected pipes, unnoticed, into the shared community line.
In our area, we’re lucky to have two water sources:
Most people here use city water for backup, and rely on the free flow whenever it’s available — it’s cold, fresh, and good enough for showers, toilets, washing, even some cooking.
We had both hooked up, but like a lot of people, I set things up casually, thinking I’d “deal with it later.”
Here’s where I messed up:
I never shut off the free water valve, and during a dry spell, the mountain water slowed to a trickle. But with both systems still connected, pressure from the city line caused water to backflow through our interconnected pipes — not into our tank, but out through the free water plumbing. If I had shut off the free water valve, city water would have flowed properly into our tank and stopped there. Instead, it found an escape path.
Basically, we weren’t just using water — we were supplying it. Our metered city water was pushing backward into the public spring-fed line. And because everything still "worked" from our perspective, we didn’t notice anything wrong.
No alarms, no warning. AAA doesn’t notify you when your usage spikes — they just bill you later.
The free water came back a few days later, and everything seemed normal… until I got the AAA bill in the mail.
$1,032.78.
I thought it had to be a mistake. It wasn’t.
That’s how much water left our system without us even using it. The city water flowed into the community pipe system through our connection, essentially donating hundreds (maybe thousands) of gallons of metered, paid water to anyone downstream. The AAA meter counted every drop as usage, even though we never turned on a faucet.
Here’s what I wish I knew — and what I’d tell every new homeowner or expat in Puerto Rico:
Island life teaches you a lot — sometimes the hard way.
I’m not mad about the bill. It was my mistake. But now I’ve got a story to tell and a lesson to pass on:
Don’t assume the free water’s always flowing — or that it’s the only water moving. And when in doubt, shut the free water valve until you're sure the pressure and flow are working in your favor.
Next week I’ll post a quick guide to:
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