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There are a lot of people who are online saying they are being overcharged by the City for water. I noticed my water bill was higher last month than usual. What’s going on?
Actually, there are a couple of things going on that are seemingly related — and they are related (kind of), but mostly they’re not related at all. Let me explain.
First, a little background. About eight years ago, the City implemented an automated meter reading system that allows staff to determine water usage remotely as well as access specific information regarding individual accounts, including water usage on an hourly basis and indications of leaks in the system — the most common cause of increased water usage, i.e., higher utility bill totals. Essentially, the system permits staff to view specific information related to individual accounts to better assist customers who have questions about their account or feel they have been overcharged.
Problems with the system began not long into the eight-year period but have substantially increased in recent years. Specifically, the City began seeing a relatively high rate of failure with the meter transmitters, a small part, called a node, that sits on top of the meter. These parts are under warranty (with two years left go) and the company, Mueller Water Products, has replaced them according to the agreement — albeit in a timeframe that has City staff, shall we say, less than impressed.
At one point, upwards of 30 percent of these transmitters were in a failed state while the City awaited the arrival of new parts from the manufacturer. With these transmitters out of service, the Water Utilities Department relied on the old-fashioned way of doing things: City staff began reading these meters manually.
Manual reading is mostly an accurate way of doing things, however inefficient it may be for the department having to provide the manpower to conduct it. But while mostly accurate, human error is always a possibility, which is why the City chose to invest in an automated system to begin with. Also, imagine tight, underground spaces with debris and dirt-covered meters that haven’t been manually read for years. It stands to reason the human error factor could be increased due to this alone.
To account for errors, anytime a water customer with a manually-read meter contacts the City about their bill, an employee is sent back to the residence to re-read the meter. If the previous reading holds, nothing changes. If the previous reading was in error, adjustments are made accordingly to the customer’s bill.
In all, 19,000 transmitter batteries have been replaced for the City’s 16,000 meter system. In other words, the entire system has been replaced — and then some. Currently, 15-20 percent of the system’s accounts are being read manually due to transmitter failures as the City awaits replacement parts from the manufacturer.
Which brings us to the question of what is being done to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen. Two known options are to upgrade the existing system with the same company for an estimated cost of $250,000, or invest in an altogether new system — for a whopping estimated $5 million. (Worth mentioning is assurances from the manufacturer that the faulty parts have been improved and an upgraded system would not fail as the previous one did.) The money exists for the former, through Water Capital Fund fees, but would need to be identified for the latter.
How the City proceeds to remedy this situation will be a matter for the Bartlesville City Council. City staff is currently researching options to present to the council in an upcoming meeting. More information will be available at that time.