By Teri Walker–
Holbrook water bills showed a spike in usage in December due to weather hampering meter readings, and faulty readings in October and November.
Assistant City Manager Randy Sullivan explained that in October and November, the meter reading gun used by the water department was reading lower than actual water usage, a problem the city didn’t discover until December.
In early December, a snowstorm kept meter readers from making their rounds at their usual time. When the readers did check meters, the readings were unexpectedly high. The high readings raised red flags among city workers, Sullivan said, which prompted the water department to conduct manual readings of meters.
It was upon checking the meters manually that the city discovered the problem with the meter gun reading lower than actual water usage, and adjustments were made to the December billings to reflect actual usage.
Sullivan said water users have expressed surprise at the December bills, and he encourages them to compare their usage from October to December last year with the same timeframe this year.
“Everyone we’ve talked to, their bill almost exactly matches last year’s usage for October through December,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said this year’s December bill includes two additional weeks of usage because of the delay in securing meter readings, so users should see decreased January bills, which will cover only two weeks of water use.
Sullivan said the city is trying to figure out what the problem is with the meter-reading gun. Manual readings are providing the city with actual usage counts, though, he said.
“The meters don’t lie. It mechanically accounts for water usage and gets rid of computer errors in the information downloaded from the gun,” said Sullivan.
Questions about water bills can be directed to city hall at 524-6225.
