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Upset by water bill? Get to know your meter

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Every day, 900 customers call the water department, many to complain about their bills.

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By BAIRD HELGESON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2009

Updated: 06/03/2009 04:17 pm

TAMPA - Do your water bills fluctuate wildly? Do you think you are paying too much?

Tampa utility managers say they're taking steps to ensure bills are accurate, but acknowledge problems do arise.

Every day, 900 customers call the city utility department, many to complain about their water bills.

Often, a high water bill is the first sign a meter is broken or a hidden leak. Occasionally, erratic water bills are mysteries that take months to solve.

"We have a lot of controls to make sure water bills are as accurate as possible," said Quentin C. "Butch" Hill, the city's utility accounting manager.

Here are a few of the safeguards in use:

- Handheld devices that transmit and analyze water usage data instantly.

- A mainframe computer that checks usages for dramatic fluctuations.

- An invitation to meet your meter-reader and watch the work in progress.

The Tampa Tribune obtained a database of water usage that shows several billing errors among high water users. A Carrollwood couple, for example, wrongly received a monthly water bill for $21,600, a staggering jump from their usual charge of around $100.

Many problems are caught by the handheld meters, before the bill is sent.

For residential customers, the city generally alternates between in-person meter readings one month and an estimate the next, Hill said. If the estimate is off, it's corrected on the next bill.

The handheld devices alert city workers if usage is up dramatically from the previous reading. This triggers an address check and another look.

The mainframe computer offers another backstop.

City workers read about 3,000 meters a day, Hill said. Of those, the computer identifies about 150 meters with higher water usage than the previous reading. These homes are rechecked before the bills are sent.

Each year, city workers recheck 36,000 water meters, Hill said. With all the safeguards, the city reports an accuracy rate of more than 97 percent.

The city utility department invites its 124,000 water customers to participate in the meter-reading and billing process. Customers are welcome to join the city worker in reading the meter to ensure the number matches the bill.

"We want customers to be comfortable with the accuracy of the reading," Hill said.

Sometimes a high bill is the result of a leak, not a faulty reading. Leaks can cause bills to spike hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

Customers can check their meters for leaks themselves. Here's how:

- Shut off all water in the house. Locate the meter and look for a small triangular dial, usually red or white.

- Note that if the dial is spinning, there is a leak.

- Get the leak fixed and notify the utility department.

Usually, the city will reduce the bill 75 percent for water that was wasted, but the bill isn't forgiven entirely, Hill said.

"It still wouldn't be fun," he said. "You'd still be upset."

V.J. Tymoschenko moved into his South Tampa home in February.

His first water bill totaled $185.65 for 23,189 gallons of water, which is considered high use.

Tymoschenko thought that was odd considering he doesn't water his lawn and spends nearly half of each month traveling for his job as a federal worker.

The next month, the water department estimated his usage at 13,125 gallons.

Tymoschenko met the meter reader during the next visit. The worker checked for a leak, but couldn't find anything.

His next bill: a credit for $13.

"What's the rhyme or reason to the billing?" Tymoschenko asked.

Other types of problems can pop up, too.

Ralph and Diana Salgado, the ones hit with the $21,600 water bill, had just gotten a new meter. The installer never calibrated the new device, resulting in the high bill.

Hill takes a more optimistic view of these circumstances. The city resolved the problem before the Salgados had to pay the bill and before cutting the water.

"We did have a mess up there," Hill said. "We have taken responsibility."

Take charge of your billing

Customers with questions about their bills or who want to learn more about meter-reading and billing may call the Tampa public utilities department at (813) 274-8811.

Problems with your water bill? Call reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

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