Savannah residents say new smart water meters are overreporting usage; mayor responds

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) — Residents in Savannah say newly installed smart water meters are incorrectly measuring their water usage, resulting in higher bills.

Rachael Williams, who has lived on the city’s southside since 2020, said she began experiencing problems after a smart meter replaced her manual meter earlier this year. She said she tracked her usage through the Eyeonwater app, which the city makes available for residents to monitor daily consumption.

Resident reports dramatic spike in usage readings

Williams said her daily water usage on the app ranged from 50 to 200 gallons before the meter replacement. During April, she said, that figure climbed to nearly 600 gallons per day — and spiked far higher on some individual days.

“There are days that like I said it’s claiming we’re using thousands of gallons in a day,” Williams said. “I mean on one day alone when we weren’t even here for most of the day they claimed we used over 3-thousand gallons.”

Williams said she hired a plumber to check for leaks, but none were found.

Complaints spread on social media

After posting about the issue on Facebook, Williams said the response was immediate.

“And within 10 minutes [there were] already dozens of comments, and then last I checked today we’re well over 100 different people stating that they’ve had the exact same scenario,” she said. “From all over, midtown, downtown, apartments, even rental homes.”

The city has been transitioning from manual to smart meters since 2023.

Mayor says city will review individual cases

On Tuesday morning, Mayor Van Johnson said he has heard the complaints and noted he recently received a high water bill himself, which he said was traced to a water leak at his property.

“I recently had the same issue, come to find out I had a water leak. My bill was extraordinarily high and when I checked it out it was a water leak,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the city is open to reviewing cases where a meter error may be the cause.

“We encourage people to ask those questions, we’ll look at your individual situation, if it’s a calculation issue of course we’ll make the necessary adjustments,” Johnson said.

Residents experiencing similar issues can find contact information for the city’s smart meter team on this story’s page on our website.

Residents who have questions or believe they are seeing an incorrect or confusing charge can contact the city’s Smart Water Meter Team by emailing smartmeter@savannahga.gov.