Unsung Heroes

(Originally posted on waterefficiency.net)

By Elizabeth Cutright
Editor
Water Efficiency

Imagine returning from a much-needed vacation only to find your house flooded due to an unchecked leak or water main break. What if the damage were not immediately apparent, and a smaller leak resulted in an astronomical water bill during the exact period you were away from home? Without visual confirmation, could you trust your water utility?
In October 2008, I wrote about Rick Baur, a resident of Ogden, UT who returned from vacation to find that he had been billed $9,700 for the alleged use of 1.4 million gallons of water. Unfortunately for Baur, the city claimed the 1.4 million gallons total was correct and demanded that Baur pay the entire amount of the bill. The mystery of where the 1.4 million gallons went is still unsolved, and, at the time I originally discussed Mr. Baur’s situation, I asked: “What responsibility does the city have to investigate the cause behind this eye-popping meter reading?”
If meters are improperly installed or maintained, they can wreak havoc. Case in point: Atlanta, GA. Just this month, Atlanta water officials announced that they have finally tracked down the source behind some eye-popping water bills: About 450 meters miscalculated usage and charged homeowners for more water than they had actually used. In some cases, residents saw their bill go up by up to 1,000%, and, despite protests, the city pushed forward on collection, employing bill collectors and shutting off service to noncompliant residents. Unlike the Baur’s case, residents in Atlanta will be eligible for refunds, and—hopefully—will have their service restored.
But meters are not the “bad guys” in either of these stories. In fact, if anything, these anecdotes just further prove the point that we have taken water for granted and have operated for too long without any real accounting of how much water we use and lose in our communities.
In the July/August 2007 issue of Water Efficiency, we highlighted the Seamount Estates community in Washington State. Described as an idyllic vacation retreat (and home to about 50 retirees and seasonal residents), the community began to notice a rise in its electricity bills in 2005 and a water leak was suspected. By 2007, the solution implemented two years prior had made significant headway—thanks to a partnership with state and local agencies, Seamount Estates had implemented an extensive leak detection and monitoring system, aided in part by the installation of water meters at all residences served by the estate’s water system. Herbert “Skip” Rand, circuit rider for the Rural Community Assistance Corp. (RCAC), described the new meters as “wonderful tools for finding leaks.”
Finding the missing water not only helped the community with its power bill, it also helped stave off real property damage that could have occurred had the leaks been allowed to flow unchecked. In one situation, the team discovered a broken water line inside of a house owned by a member who was away at the time. “You could actually hear the leak from outside,” says Derek Zock, of Evergreen Rural Water of Washington (ERWoW). “When we located the leak, we were able to shut the water off at the valve box and then advise the homeowner that they had a bad leak inside. There was already a lot of water damage, but by shutting it off I’m sure that it helped save part of the house.”
Rand agrees, adding that the owners were very appreciative. “Seeing that meter spinning saved the house; that gave us a kind of hero status,” he says.
Sometimes a shock to the system is what is needed to correct destructive behavior—and that’s the positive I see coming out of scenarios like those in Ogden and Atlanta. Just like that post-Christmas credit card bill, water meter results can open up the eyes of a community with hard numbers on how much water is flowing in and out of its boundaries.