What is the name of your state? Colorado
I recently recieved a bill from my water company demanding payment of 400.00 for 1 month of service. No one was able to tell me how the bill got so high. (average bill is 40.00 per month) It wasnt until I noticed the sound of water running behind the walls of my bathroom that I called the property mangement to have it checked. Low and behold there was a massive water leak behind my shower walls. This wasnt the first time; there was another water leak the day I moved in. (this one was in the walls of the living room), The property management was quick to get the leak fixed, however I am stuck with the huge water bill that resulted from the leak. Is there any way I can recover my losses from this disaster? I am a single mother of 3 and would like to know if the landlord is responsiible for at least part of the bill?

You can ASK, but don't expect to get a positive response.

You need to make sure you have renter's insurance because of the frequent water damage and you need to make sure you are keeping your heat at a proper setting to make sure the plumbing does not freeze.

Ask water company if you can make payments on the huge bill.

I do have renters insurance but is it worth it to make a claim?

Go to the water company and explain to them what happened and have proof of the leak. Most water companies have a plan for this and will take your monthly average bill for the last year and figure what your bill should have been using that calculation. They will then probably require you to pay that amount plus a part of the amount that was used up because of the leak.

I had this happen to me and they had me pay 1/4 of the original bill plus my average bill for the last year. They also allowed me to pay the big bill in 3 monthly installments. In my case my outside spiguet broke ( probably the day I left) on vacation and 135,000 gallons of water drained down my yard and into the creek.

900 dollar bill ended up only costing me $260.00

I would also ask the management company to contact the owners and see if they will cover some of it. It never hurts to ask.

Same thing just happen to my newest tenant and me, but it was with the flap in the toilet. We signed the lease right before Thanksgiving, but her movers did not come until mid December. The day after we signed the lease, she stopped over with her kids just to show them the house. One of them used the toilet before they left and didn't realize the toilet was still running when they left. They came by 9 days later and realized the toilet was running. As soon as she told me the toilet wouldn't shut off, I replaced the flapper, but by then the damage ($385 water bill) was done. They did not turn the utilities over into their name yet (as stipulated on her receipt I gave her for her security deposit & 1st month's rent) and the bill still came to me. She didn't mean to leave the toilet running and I would have fixed it earlier had I known there was a problem. As a jester of fairness, I offered to split the water bill with her and she readily agreed.
That being said, I feel your situation is different, as you did nothing to cause the leak. I would seek the entire amount above & beyond your normal water bill from the LL.