Ranked: San Antonio's top 20 residential water users so far in 2018

TOP RESIDENTIAL WATER USERS IN 2018:

20. A home in the Dominion owned by William E. Bird used 642,617 gallons between Jan. 1-July 31, 2018. TOP RESIDENTIAL WATER USERS IN 2018:

20. A home in the Dominion owned by William E. Bird used 642,617 gallons between Jan. 1-July 31, 2018. Photo: Google Earth Photo: Google Earth Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Ranked: San Antonio's top 20 residential water users so far in 2018 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

Think your water bill is bad? Imagine paying more than $4,000 a month for water and sewer services.

That’s the estimated monthly fee of San Antonio’s highest residential water user — the residents of a home on the north side of the city that used more than 2.3 million gallons of water in the first seven months of the year, according to data obtained through an open records request from the San Antonio Water System and the residential rate calculator provided by the system’s website.

While the average San Antonio household uses just over 7,000 gallons of water each month, according to San Antonio Water System Communications Manager Anne Hayden, others use nearly 50 times that amount.

Some of those on the list blamed leaks or faulty pipes describing the situations as "nightmare(s)" that cost them thousands of dollars.

But the majority of the city's top 20 residential water users during the first seven months of 2018 have landed on that same list before, Hayden said.

RELATED: These are San Antonio's top 20 commercial water users so far this year

"Typically they have a fairly large, landscaped lot that they are choosing to keep very green," Hayden said, adding that she's known some properties to fill man-made "vanity" lakes.

Four different customers used at least 5,000 gallons of water per day on average — the equivalent of more than 1,600 toilet flushes or about 100 10-minute showers with a high-pressure shower head. At least twenty used enough water daily to fill more than 48,000 8-ounce glasses of water.

"The vast majority of our customers are very water-conscientious," Hayden said. "We just have that small percentage of customers that have the ability and the means...so if they stay within the watering regulations, that is totally up to them and in their lifestyle."

Most of those named on the list could not be reached for comment. Those who were reached by phone said the water leaks were out of their control and they were actively working with the San Antonio Water System to address the problem.

To read more about water conservation efforts and what San Antonio Water System officials have to say about the city's top water users, visit our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com.

Click through the slideshow to see San Antonio's top 20 water users from Jan. 1, 2018 through July 31, 2018.

S. M. Chavey is a staff writer for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here. | sarah.chavey@express-news.net | 210-250-3122 | Twitter: @smchavey