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?

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?

I would want a new meter. They should be able and willing to provide
that. I would guess they are run by or at least authorized by some local
authority. Try contacting that authority and see if they can get you a new
meter.

As for the large April reading. Do you know for sure exactly how they
computed it? Many companies don't read the meter each month, but only every
other or every third month and estimate the missing months, often based on
over all use. That overall use in April could include a lot of lawn
watering in some areas. Even if it did not, I would guess they may be
thinking you did a lot of lawn watering. It may also be some kind of catch
up due to the problem where you may have been undercharged for some months
before.

My guess is they are not dishonest, but rather not communicating very
well.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Test the meter yourself to see if its accurate . It is usualy measures
in cu ft , convert to gallons and use a few 5 gallon buckets to see an
amount , run water till meter sets to a new # and test , I tested mine
it was accurate. Something like 72 gallons a meter stop.
Were your previous readings Estimates.
Toilets can leak alot .

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.

Have you had any water outages in your area? A friend had this same problem
following water outages. During the outage, they left a valve or two open,
and the meter "spun" while air was running through the system. I know it
doesn't make sense, but it did happen. Getting the local municipality to
write off the huge water bill was a real nightmare for them...

KB


"Tony" wrote in message
m...
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?

In many places, water meters are now read electronically. Each meter has a
small transmitter and it's read by a truck driving up the street and polling
the meters as it goes. Driver never gets out and never sees your meter.
That could be the glitch.


"Tony" wrote in message
m...
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?

ryeish wrote:

snipped

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.


With $30,000 at stake, how did the utility prove that the old meter had
been reading low for two years? A Johnny Cochran type would likeky have
argued that the old meter might have gone bad two days before they
checked it, and the "increased usage" after a new meter was installed
was just due to changes in the nature of what the business was doing
that required water.

Did they find something wrong with the meter which was unquestionably
there "since birth" like an incorrect gear set installed at the factory?

Just wondering,

Jeff


--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

With $30,000 at stake, how did the utility prove that the old meter had
been reading low for two years? A Johnny Cochran type would likeky have
argued that the old meter might have gone bad two days before they
checked it, and the "increased usage" after a new meter was installed
was just due to changes in the nature of what the business was doing
that required water.

That is exactly what I would have done. I would have asked them to
demonstrate how it could not have failed the week before it was removed or
not have been damaged during transport.

Did they find something wrong with the meter which was unquestionably
there "since birth" like an incorrect gear set installed at the factory?

Just wondering,

Me too, an answer like that would be the only one I might accept.


Jeff


--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."

On Sun, 23 May 2004 12:19:41 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

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.


With $30,000 at stake, how did the utility prove that the old meter had
been reading low for two years? A Johnny Cochran type would likeky have
argued that the old meter might have gone bad two days before they
checked it, and the "increased usage" after a new meter was installed
was just due to changes in the nature of what the business was doing
that required water.

Did they find something wrong with the meter which was unquestionably
there "since birth" like an incorrect gear set installed at the factory?

Apparently they'd done a study a few years back when a neighboring
institution wanted to expanded but couldn't because the line running
to our both places wasn't enough to carry the increased demand. We had
a meter replaced several years ago during this expansion war due to
some problems with it (same under reporting issue).

The meter was defective. When they told the facility about it
management said they'd get it replaced ASAP, the water dept was
already prepping to dig at this time.

They fought the billing but there was some evidence that prevented
them from overturning this. I don't think they were emails sent
because I would have had to restore them (what a pain in the butt) but
possibly other correspondence.

The water authority is now auditing all large business meters to see
who is "cheating" the system. I wonder if none of this would have
happened if the guy who wanted to save a few $$ had tried other things
like low flow shower heads and fixing the army of running toilets
first. :P

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.



Had a similar situation. The water company finally found out that the meter
reading was X 10. The reader missed that for a number of years. Talk about
sticker shock!!!!
Ed