On 22 May 2004 22:40:29 -0700, (Tony) wrote:

In March our meter reading was over 1,350,000 gallons!!! The water
company did not charge for this month thankfully attributing it to a
glitch? (one hell of a glitch)

The next month, April, our usage showed to be over 43,000 gallons
(several times higher than it has ever been)! This time the water
company is billing us. After we complained a lot now the water meter
readings seem to be back to normal but before that they were sky high
even after April. (we log the meter readings several times a day) Now
the water company company insists we pay up. It is clear we have no
leaks (we'd notice this much water leaking and the meter stops when
our water usage stops.. we are on septic and the tank is half empty)

Ironically the previous owner of our house was a career water company
man, could have even installed this meter as far as I know). The
water company also refuses to replace the meter, grumble. The only
theory I can come up with is that the water company did something
secretly to "fix" the problem. Is this possible? What mechanically
could have the water company done to make these changes?

Request that they show you how they're reading your meter - in the
spring of 95 our meter was way off and I was billed for something like
10x the normal amount. When they did the audit they discovered that
the meter reader had driven down into my yard and was reading the
meter from his truck, which was roughly 6' away. During this they
discovered that the final reading he had taken was way off - our meter
hadn't even HIT that amount yet. They adjusted it down.

You can also request they give you a new meter. If the continue to say
no about it ask them to put a meter down stream from the existing
meter so they can get an idea of whether the meter is that far off.
Keep in mind that if your meter is indeed "slow" then they could back
charge you. If they continue to say no then I'd call the city/county
and find out who sits above them on a govt level that could force them
to address this.

On a funnier note our workplace decided to have our utilities audited.
Gas, electricity and water were tested. Our water meter was way off
and we ended up getting billed for $30,000.00 for 2 years of
underbilling. Now we have a new meter in and the water bills are way
up and the person who suggested that we get audited is in hot water.