Surge on water bill prompt Montgomery County woman to get help

Last month a woman called the Ombudsman to complain about her high water bills. She stated that, as advised by the water department, she had several plumbers come to her home to check her residence for leaks, and none were found.

She said her bills are normally $157 per quarter.

Then she received a bill for $445, then the next one was almost $700. The woman is 89-years-old and cannot continue to pay the increasing bills.

The Ombudsman requested the account history for the property. The quarterly usage was normally eight CCF or so. Then it increased to 56 CCF, then 46 CCF and most recently 81 CCF. A CCF, or centum cubic feet, is a unit of measurement for water usage on utility bills, representing 100 cubic feet of water.

It is equivalent to 748 gallons. The water department agreed to send a representative out to check the reads and the meter.

The Ombudsman helped arrange a day and time for the representative to visit the woman’s home. When the visit took place, the woman informed the representative that she had the toilets repaired when the plumbers she called came out to inspect.

Toilets are frequently the cause of such water usage increases.

The representative said when water travels down the sanitary drain, there is no credit given for the usage. The woman was relieved to know that the excess water usage and accompanying high bills would cease.

The Ombudsman column is a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints that summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area.