ComplaintsforSouth Granville Water and Sewer Authority

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've only been living in Creedmoor for a year and some months - and my water bill has been an average of $96 to $125 every month. Until September 2023, I received a letter saying my bill has spiked and I have used more water than normal. It went from $200 to $280 and just last month it was $893. However, on Friday while in the SWGASAs office making my payment and picking up a requested data report, I overheard another person who also had a significant price increase and it's very similar to mine (her newest bill was $802). So I thought why not poll via Next Door and see who else is having this same issue or something similar. This was posted on Saturday and as of today I have about 6 other customers in the same situation with the same numbers around the same months ALL with the few bodies within the home (there was one home that had about a family of 5/6). This has me wondering if we're paying for someone else's mistake because this is no coincidence. I believe there's some price gouging within the water company. There were a few water main breaks from August 2023 through December 2023 and I'm wondering are we paying for their mistake, or does our water line coincide with that water main break?I have replaced toilets back in April 2023. My plumber had me put food coloring in my toilets to see if the color changes, I put buckets in all the sinks and bathrooms to see if anything was leaking. I had one faucet that had a small leak but that's not $900 worth of water in one month. So the plumber decided to replace all the flaps on the toilets, the valve, the faucets, hot water tank, pressure tank. Note there's no water leak in my crawl space. I hired a Leak finding company and they also couldn't find a leak. I've tested the meter and its reading fine. My neighbor said about 2 years ago there was a huge leak in front of his home but it was the city that had to discover where it was and fix it. I'm not sure if that issue has now become my issue. There is a problem!

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Following is SGWASAs response to a customer complaint about the customers above normal water usage during a period of several months.

  ****** reads water meters via several methods including remote radio reading technology and manual meter reading. The majority of the water meters throughout SGWASAs service area are read via radio reading technology. Radio reading technology means the water consumption data is automatically pulled from the water meter via special reading equipment mounted in ****** vehicles. When the water meter is read via the special equipment, the reading captures consumption data since the previous meter reading, providing daily/monthly water consumptions values.
  

  When the monthly water meter data for each account is downloaded into the ****** utility billing software and processed, the software evaluates the previous months reading to the current months reading to evaluate water consumption values. During the comparison processing, consumption values can be considered normal, below average, or above average.
  

  When above average water consumption values are identified,****** utility staff reviews the water consumption data from the past/present month and then visits the meter at the associated utility account address to validate the meter reading.  ****** refers to this process as a high usage meter re-read. Following the confirmation of the high usage meter value during the re-read process, ****** utility billing staff issues a letter to the utility account customer notifying them of the higher-than-normal meter consumption.  The notification is done to assist customers with identifying any potential water leaks that *** be occurring so that they can correct them promptly.  Often,customers are aware of their increased consumption due to certain activities (outside watering/power washing/guests/etc.), other times, customers are not aware of a leak, and they are thankful that we notified them. 
  

  Based on the high usage values that were associated to the Concerned High Usage Customer, ****** customer service staff mailed high-usage notification letters in September 2023 and October 2023 to the Concerned High Usage Customer.  The Concerned High Usage Customer contacted ****** in late December and requested a special ****** service to have a water meter report run for the months of 7/1/23 thru 12/1/23. The water meter consumption report was provided to the Concerned High Usage Customer showing both the daily water meter reading values as well as the monthly water meter reading values. The report shows greater than normal daily water use starting on 11/10/2023 and continuing thru 11/21/2023. All of the report information was shared with the Concerned High Usage Customer.
  

  As far as ****** is concerned, the water meter readings are accurate based on the reading values returned and the associated reading tags (good read, small leak, high leak, good read).  Furthermore, ****** found no evidence of meter reading errors for the Concerned High Usage Customer. As such, no refunds or billing adjustments were made in accordance with the ****** Leak Adjustment Policy. 

  Customer response

  01/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21112193
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  As the response states here the company uses a remote radio reading technology and manual meter reading. On December 28th their technician came out to read my meter again, and I asked him then how do I know that the radio reading technology or manual meter reading is up to par? or How am I the customer to know that what you're seeing and showing me is to be correct? I can only know by what you tell me. When I called the office to request the data hourly report, I had asked the representative about getting a new meter. She then tells me that we don't just honor requests like this from customers but that I could possibly request to have it pulled and taken for testing but at my own expense. I had asked the cost of this and she said she would have to get back to me. As of today I have not heard back on this request.
  
  My plumber said that I could test the meter reading myself with a 5 gallon bucket. I took a picture of the meter before the water ran from outside, then I filled the bucket and took another picture and it read 5.9 gallons. Then we tested the water inside the home and I filled a 5 gallon bucket 3 times to see if it would read 15 gallons and there after it read **** gallons. I thought I should test this meter again, so I washed one small load of white clothes and took a picture of the meter before and after the load. I then washed a second load of a medium load of dark color clothes and between both loads of clothes my meter said I used a total of 153 gallons of water. I moved into this home on April 2022. The washer and dryer were purchased brand new in July 2022 - I've not had any issues with either machine since September 2023. 
  
  From April 2023 I have had all three toilets replaced. Since October we have been replacing the flap inside all the toilets and the shut off valve. I have replaced all faucets within the home and shower components. I have gotten a new Hot Water tank and pressure tank and also replaced the pressure valve under the home. Please note since all this work has been done there  has not been any leaks under the home. When the new December bill came, I paid for a leak finding company to test and try to find the leak that ****** claims is on the homeowner. The only thing that was found was the half bath downstairs shut off valve would leak when it was turned off only. A thermal leak detector was done on the walls from that bathroom to the washroom and no leaking in the walls was found. The crawl space was yet again dry as a bone. The company also put the gas through the pipes to see if a leak could be detected and nothing was found. That cost me $630. With all the replacement of various things to try to discover this leak I have spent an estimate of $3,000.00 and as of today no leak has been discovered.
  
  As of last week I received my new water bill. Since September I had been paying a water bill of $200 or more, especially last month of $893.00 and now after an official complaint and reaching out to the local news and possibly looking into a lawyer the bill just magically decreased to $150.00. But my meter still says that I'm using **** gallons of water per load? And we still haven't found an internal or external leak on the homeowners side. However I was advised of the issues within the neighborhood and how my own neighbor two years ago had ****** out at his home searching for a leak that he discovered from cutting his grass. He said it took 2 and half weeks to figure out that the neighbor across the street from him had a leak and his water was pushing down into his home.
  
  ****** has not offered any means to discover of this so-called leak as an extension of their own equipment.
  
  I truly find it hard to believe this to be of the consumer's fault when I have about 5/6 other customers all having the same issue and paying the same amount of money and all of it started in September 2023. It all just doesn't add up. 
  
  
  I will be requesting an hourly data report moving forward and I will not rest until this so-called leak has been discovered for I truly believe that as a new customer I'm a victim and my account should be credited back for the overcharging that ****** has done. 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

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