We have a well and a septic system. In the 60s and 70s, council members
got rich selling houses on a low clay field. Then came the Reagan Era,
when big government said if anyone had drainfield problems, the
taxpayers would have to pay for a sewer system.

We and other residents were disconnected from our wells and septic
systems so the town could bill us for what we didn't want or need. Some
insisted on staying on their wells because the water was safer. They
were required to have their wells metered so the town could bill them
for sewerage. Then the town billed them for their own water as well as
sewerage.

(In the Clinton Era, the EPA reversed itself, saying a good septic
system would work in almost any terrain and in a rural community would
be much cheaper and better for the environment than a sewer. However,
county officials have stuck to the Reagan Doctrine because it makes
taxpayers help fly-by-night businesses and those making a killing in
real estate.)

My monthly consumption is a third of the average. Those using less than
the average are billed a flat rate as if they'd used the average. We're
the ones who pay the town's overhead so those who use more water get it
wholesale. The one who pays the largest share of the town's overhead
would be the widow who doesn't use a drop because she's away in a
nursing home. Because the billing encourages waste, there have been
expensive problems with the EPA over the disposal of all that sewer
water. Bills are ten times higher than in 1988.

nhurst wrote:
After something like that, I do believe I'd be digging my own well and
telling them to keep their meter. I'd even take out a loan for it, too.
That's just heinous.

-Nathan
Bart Byers wrote:
This town has about 200 voters. The bill comes early in the month. At
noon on the 25th a $65 penalty is due. The bill and penalty must be
paid in cash even if the resident has paid for 30 years without bouncing
a check. The meter reader pulls meters on unpaid accounts at noon so
people will pay immediately. With cash required and a noon deadline,
it's ideal for skimming; to determine how much cash was collected, an
auditor would have to know exactly what time each account was paid.

A neighbor didn't realize his bill was unpaid until he saw his meter
being pulled. The town clerk said they had neglected to send him a
bill, but because he was ten minutes late, he was still responsible to
pay the bill and the penalty in cash. Another time, the reader came to
his door at noon on Christmas Eve. He said they were pulling meters a
day before the deadline because it was Christmas, but my neighbor could
avoid the hassle if he paid the reader the bill and penalty in cash on
the spot.

I think officials have been robbing water customers for many years, but
I don't understand how they could pocket the money if they replaced a
meter to overbill somebody who paid by check.