Pasco County has found a formula that will lower water bills for some customers who have been stung by water bills that cannot be explained.
The new regulations will apply to bills — as a one-time only deal — involving unexplained water usage of at least 20,000 gallons a month.
Pasco County commissioners on Oct. 20 approved
an ordinance that will significantly reduce payments owed by eight customers, and set a precedent for how future incidents of excessive unexplained water use will be addressed. Commission Chairman Ted Schrader voted against the measure.
Decisions in these billing cases will be handled administratively and will not be brought to the county commission.
“These kinds of things shouldn’t come to us,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Wells.
The issue grew out of a complaint by Louise Gritmon about her July 2014 bill for more than $3,300, representing 614,000 gallons of water use.
An eight-month audit ordered by Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Paula O’Neil, and completed by her inspector general’s office, scrutinized nearly 320 unusually high water bills. The final report determined that the county’s water meters worked correctly but there were deficiencies in software and meter reading procedures.
To date, county officials say they have reviewed more than 360 complaints.
Of the complaints reviewed, the county found:
• 88 billing errors
• 21 verified leaks
• 96 leaks that can’t be verified
• 8 unexplained high water usage
• 154 from normal irrigation use
County officials still can’t explain the meter’s reading for an 18-day period when Gritmon’s residence was vacant. But under the new ordinance, her reduced charges would be about $125, according to county calculations.
That’s a 94 percent reduction.
Gritmon believes the policy is unfair.
From her seat in the audience, she told commissioners that even under that policy, she’s being billed “for water I did not use.”
She believes it would be fair to charge her just under $41, which is on average what the county has billed her monthly over the past year.
Previously county officials said they had no way under current regulations to remedy bills for Gritmon or others in similar situations. Only billing errors and verifiable leaks could prompt billing adjustments.
County officials cited the audit, which found water meters were recording correctly. However, in some cases no leak could be found or documented, and the excessive water usage remains a mystery.
For billing adjustments, Schrader preferred a 50,000-gallon a month threshold, based on data and an initial recommendation from county staff members.
An average for most customers is about 6,000 gallons a month.
Commissioners were told that during the hottest months, customers with irrigation systems would typically use 20,000 to 30,000 gallons a month, and sometimes more. Schrader said the county could expect a lot of complaints based on the 20,000-gallon threshold, and might need to adjust the number.
“I think it’s easier to go back down than to go back up,” he said.
Bruce Kennedy, assistant county administrator for utilities, also issued an apology to Pasco water customers.
“We know the way we handled these billing issues has not reflected our commitment to good customer service,” he said. “Our policies and procedures certainly need revising. They need repair.”
Published October 28, 2015
