- April 26, 2024
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Bills should be monitored monthly, city spokeswoman said
Watch those water bills. That’s what Adam Landis, of Ormond-by-the-Sea, would tell you. He came home to a delinquent bill of $906.59 in November of 2013. He suspects a delinquent water meter was to blame, but the city suspects his lawn irrigation. Landis uses city water for his lawn sprinklers.
Landis travels for months at time, and had his water bill taken out of an account. So, he was very surprised to arrive home to the huge bill.
“If I was guilty of anything it was not looking at the bills,” he said. He previously lived in Maine, and drinking water came from wells, so the water bill was something he never had to consider.
Landis said it doesn’t seem possible that his lawn could have been watered that much. Water bills in 2013 show usage as much as 70,000 gallons per month.
“If I used that much water my grass would be dead,” he said. “It would come bumbling out of the ground.” He has reports from his lawn care company that do not show overwatering, and a note from a neighbor stating that his sprinklers only ran during the approved water hours in the early morning.
But the city has a form, called “Water Leak Facts” that show thousands of gallons can be lost from a small leak.
Landis suspects that the reason the city is currently replacing all of the meters in the city is because they have a defective design, called meter rocking, that causes bad readings. “They can’t replace them fast enough,” he said.
Kelly McGuire, city finance director, said the meters are being replaced because they are 20 to 30 years old.
Landis’ water meter was replaced in December of 2013, and a test showed the meter was defective. He said his water problems were fixed for 2014.
However, McGuire points out his readings throughout 2014 were still erratic, going up and down. Landis said a leak was found that was causing the erratic readings in 2014.
In Landis’ case, McGuire said they have no way of knowing what caused the high water usage in 2013.
“We think it had to do with irrigation,” she said. “We can’t say because we weren’t monitoring it.”
People should watch their water bills each month, McGuire said. If there is usage that can’t be explained, they will often issue a courtesy adjustment to their bill for that month.
She said if a person gets a high bill, a technician can turn the water off and see if the meter keeps it running. If it runs, it shows the meter is defective and an adjustment will be provided.
“If you get a high bill, call right away,” McGuire said.
