Damage reports in question in Columbus Water Meter Project after total number drops by 60%

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A Columbus water customer, Rhoda Fegan, is rebuilding her home after a city-mandated water meter replacement project caused $30,000 in damages this summer.

The project, which involved replacing all 310,000 water meters in the city, has been marred by reports of damage and concerns over contractor practices.

Fegan expressed her frustration four months after her house flooded while talking to ABC6 Investigates in her family room without a finished floor.

“It’s not been ordered yet,” said Fegan. “And as far as I know, they have no plans to compensate anybody who has had loss.”

The Columbus Water Department initially reported 150 instances of damage when installations were nearing 50,000 in July. However, recent figures provided to ABC6 Investigates show only 59 damage reports out of 87,000 installations were completed by subcontractor VEPO Metering. ABC6 asked about the accuracy of the new data provided last week. The city stated that VEPO reviewed incident logs and found repeats and duplicates, which decreased the damage number.

“We realize the updated figure seems at odds with the original table, and the fact that there have been thousands of additional installations completed since then,” wrote city spokesperson George Zonders in an email to ABC6 Investigates this week. “While we are confident with the updated number, we are asking our project team to review the entire list again to confirm this total. We are also continuing to implement installation improvements which are keeping damage numbers lower compared to earlier in the project.

Mayor Andrew Ginther emphasized the importance of addressing customer concerns when questioned by ABC6 on ongoing complaints.

“I think it’s very important for us to look at all the facts,” said Mayor Ginther in July. “Do a thorough investigation and do right by ratepayers and customers.”

In response to the issues, the city has adopted seven new protocols, including informing customers about installation risks and conducting quarterly background checks for installers.

Despite these measures, Fegan remains skeptical about the new city-issued guidelines.

“They haven’t mentioned training at all in this document,” she said.