You are the experts in this field. I’m just a magazine editor helping to share your stories with the rest of the industry. 

Back in November, I wrote a column based on a story I’d seen about a family in Georgia whose regular water bill jumped from about $150 to nearly $3,000. Over a four-month period, their bills totaled over $12,000 for two retirees with no pool, hot tub or sprinkler system. They called their utility and then their home warranty company, which came out to investigate but found no leaks.

So, the family called a plumber to come out and investigate. Again, no leaks were found, but the plumber did find the water meter to be defective. When the family called the utility again to request a billing adjustment, they were denied and told no adjustment was warranted. Keep in mind this was a two-person residence with spikes 30 times their average monthly usage.

The family appealed to their water and sewer appeals board, according to the report, but were again denied any adjustment. And while the utility had sent someone out to check for leaks, no one from the utility had checked the meter. 

When the family’s bill finally dropped to a more regular charge, they appealed again and were again denied, with the utility saying it had checked equipment on the site and everything was working properly.

I wrote that column not to call out the utility but to highlight the importance of working for and with your customers to help make them champions of your work. But, as is sometimes the case, I didn’t articulate that quite as well as intended.

A reader in Ohio, a 28-year veteran of her water utility, pointed out some things I missed.

“We have seen this exact type of thing happen in our own community,” she wrote. “Customers will call for a plumber to come in to look for a leak after receiving their bill and the plumber will find nothing. We send our meter repairman in, please keep in mind he is not a plumber but uses the drip indicator on the meter, and he will find a toilet running. Why the difference? Toilets can start and stop leaking because of the seal on the flapper starting to go bad. 

“The other biggest offender is a water-driven sump pump. Many customers do not realize it is metered water that drives that sump pump. It is wonderful for keeping the basement dry when power goes out, but if it has to run while the main one is out or the float gets stuck somehow, these are the amounts of bills we have seen because of it. While our meter repairman is there, he will also take an actual reading from the meter, and if that reading matches the reading we have in the system that we received electronically, we have no choice but to follow what that meter says. He will explain to them how to use the meter to watch for leaks in the future, but if everything matches, the system is working correctly.”

As I said, I’m not the expert here and I don’t mind being called out. I probably should have dug a little deeper and asked the questions brought up by the writer from Ohio. I was making assumptions, and assuming makes — well, you’ve all heard that one. 

Municipal Sewer & Water is focused on celebrating the people, projects and operational improvements that are driving this industry forward. Luckily, there are plenty of those stories to tell.

Thanks for reading, Lisa. Enjoy this month’s issue.