Moulton Niguel Water District

Ms***, MNWD tested your water meter and found the meter functioning properly In all instances, it is the responsibility of the customer to make necessary repairs to their private plumbing systemMNWD makes every effort to help our customers reduce their water consumption, but it’s up to the customer to follow through on their commitment to save waterMNWD is a public agency and does not make repairs to private plumbing systemsIf the customer needs assistance with repairs to their private plumbing system, MNWD recommends contacting a qualified plumber to make the repairs to avoid wasting water unnecessarily The District understands that leaks occur; however, it is the responsibility of the customer to repair leaks immediatelyMNWD will make every effort possible to assist our customers

August 14,
Ms*** ***
*** *** Ct
*** ***, CA ***
Dear Ms***:
In response to your correspondence dated
August 6,
The District is dedicated to providing reliable water services cost effectively while protecting the water resources and public health
of our communityIn our meeting with you on August 12, 2015, MNWD provided you a print-out that showed your water consumption history, which dates back to May of Your history of water consumption has been as high as billing units (BU's) according to recordsYour average usage during the winter months is Bu's, which is very goodMay through September you averaged to billing units since During the site visit with you at your home on August 13, 2015, you mentioned the plumber replaced the flush valves inside your toilets due to a trickle of water constantly runningRunning toilets can use to gallons of water per dayAlso, remember that running toilets can shas intermittent movement on the water meterWe discussed your purchase of a new irrigation control timer due to the existing controller being faultyPlease continue to hand water until the new controller is installedHand watering is one of the most efficient ways to water your landscape, provided you use a positive shut-off nozzle or a watering containerThe District confirmed the water meter currently providing water to your home is correctA check of our billing records indicate you are currently up-to-date on your water billThank youIf you need further assistance with your account please do not hesitate to call us
Moulton Niguel Water
La Paz Rd
*** Niguel, CA

Ms. [redacted],
MNWD tested your water meter and found the meter functioning properly.
In all instances, it is the responsibility of the customer to make necessary repairs to their private plumbing system. MNWD makes every effort to help our customers reduce their water consumption, but it’s up to the customer to follow through on their commitment to save water. MNWD is a public agency and does not make repairs to private plumbing systems. If the customer needs assistance with repairs to their private plumbing system, MNWD recommends contacting a qualified plumber to make the repairs to avoid wasting water unnecessarily.
The District understands that leaks occur; however, it is the responsibility of the customer to repair leaks immediately. MNWD will make every effort possible to assist our customers.

Review: My normal water usage is 7 to 8 BU per month. It’s been that way since I moved to this house in 2008. Moulton Niguel Water has charged me for 17 and 18 BU or (18000 gallons) of water for two consecutive months, At first they told me that I lived in a two story house with a very large amount of landscaping requiring irrigation (it’s the house next door because I live in a small 2 bed bedroom) and next they told me that I had a Leak detection truck at my house so I must have had a slab leak. I did not have a slab leak but the company did find that many of the plumbing fixtures needed to be replaced due to hard water (its comes from the Colorado River for this district). The leak detection checked my meter numerous times and did not find any signs of wasted water or leakage. In addition, my irrigation system has been turned off since last summer because of a landscaping issue.

I called my neighbors who live in bigger homes with pools and their water bills did not come close to the charges I was incurring (between $70, 60 and 50 dollars per three months). There are two meters in front of my house and I believe the meter reader switched the reading between the house next to me. I requested a credit from Manager, Greg, without success. It’s looks like they are billing based on lot size for irrigation and averages for size of house. Please advise.

I do not want to be delinquent in paying but I’m a senior citizen on a fixed income and incurred the plumbing cost when I didn’t really have a leak and paid for maintenance due to the hard water.Desired Settlement: I do not want to be delinquent in paying but I’m a senior citizen on a fixed income and incurred the plumbing cost when I didn’t really have a leak and paid for maintenance due to the hard water.

Business

Response:

August 14, 2015

Ms. [redacted]

[redacted] Ct.

[redacted], CA [redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]:

In response to your correspondence dated

August 6, 2015

The District is dedicated to providing reliable water services cost effectively while protecting the water resources and public health of our community. In our meeting with you on August 12, 2015, MNWD provided you a print-out that showed your water consumption history, which dates back to May of 2012. Your history of water consumption has been as high as 35 billing units (BU's) according to records. Your average usage during the winter months is 4 Bu's, which is very good. May through September you averaged 14 to 18 billing units since 2012. During the site visit with you at your home on August 13, 2015, you mentioned the plumber replaced the flush valves inside your toilets due to a trickle of water constantly running. Running toilets can use 30 to 500 gallons of water per day. Also, remember that running toilets can show-up as intermittent movement on the water meter. We discussed your purchase of a new irrigation control timer due to the existing controller being faulty. Please continue to hand water until the new controller is installed. Hand watering is one of the most efficient ways to water your landscape, provided you use a positive shut-off nozzle or a watering container. The District confirmed the water meter currently providing water to your home is correct. A check of our billing records indicate you are currently up-to-date on your water bill. Thank you. If you need further assistance with your account please do not hesitate to call us.

Moulton Niguel Water

27500 La Paz Rd

[redacted] Niguel, CA 92677

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I reject Moulton Water District’s reply that my issue is resolved. The only thing they were interested in was to ensure they received my payment. [redacted] was the supervisor that visited my property on the 13 of Aug however, his account is not exactly correct.If something was wrong with my plumbing (i.e., a toilet) excessive water would be showing up month after month. It does not, only excessive water in the summer months. I explained to [redacted] that my sprinkler system has not been operational for the last two summers because of issues with neighbors. I have less than ¼ acre including the area for house. There is only a 6 ft (approx) perimeter around two sides of my property and it has no landscaping.The plumber was called because I wanted to follow up on all the general notices received from the water district about having plumbing fixtures, etc. checked to ensure no wasted water. I called them as preventive measures. Faucets were replaced because of corrosive build ups due to hard water. I can get a letter from my plumber explaining everything they did.[redacted] did mention that with this planned community, it is very easy for someone to tap into the water lines. I have a very small 2 bedroom house and all the other homes beside me and behind me are multi-story and multi-family homes with about an acre of land to irrigate. I suspect someone has tapped into my water lines but [redacted] told me this would be my responsibility to locate. He did have a new water meter installed and requested that I keep a log of all water usage for a month. He could correlate my usage (time and activity) to the timer on the new water meter to see if activity was occurring that I could not verify.I intend to turn over to legal services if the water company cannot explain the high usage for Summer Months when I know that I’m the only person in this household and my habits are the same each month.Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted],

MNWD tested your water meter and found the meter functioning properly.

In all instances, it is the responsibility of the customer to make necessary repairs to their private plumbing system. MNWD makes every effort to help our customers reduce their water consumption, but it’s up to the customer to follow through on their commitment to save water. MNWD is a public agency and does not make repairs to private plumbing systems. If the customer needs assistance with repairs to their private plumbing system, MNWD recommends contacting a qualified plumber to make the repairs to avoid wasting water unnecessarily.

The District understands that leaks occur; however, it is the responsibility of the customer to repair leaks immediately. MNWD will make every effort possible to assist our customers.

Review: I have been living in my house for 20 years and using the same water service company the whole time. My average bill during this time has been in the area of $30.

Beginning 5 months ago, my bill shot up 5 times for one month and then went to 10+ times the normal amount for 4 months until I finally realized the issue.

I am amazed and disgusted that such a thing can happen completely unchecked in this day and age of technology and in the face of one of the biggest droughts in the history of our state of California.

It makes me wonder how many other homes are being taken advantage of without any notice should they have a leaky sprinkler or faulty toilet or God knows whatever else could cause this aberration.

I am completely appalled, sickened and ill to my stomach that this could happen. I have been subject to over $1,200 in charges because of this practice of MNWD not checking for unnatural water usage at my home.

Am I the only one? I think not.

This is just inferior service to the point of criminal and everyone who uses MNWD needs to know that they are "looking the other way" just to increase their profits.Desired Settlement: I demand that MNWD refund any money I paid them during the past 5 months that was attributable to above average water usage that I have been billed for over my 20 years as a customer.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted] We apologize for not responding to your first request; however, this was the first time we were made aware of the complaint. Please note, [redacted] no longer works for MNWD.

Moulton Niguel Water District (“MNWD or District”) has responded to the customer several times. On January 28, 2014, [redacted] called about a high water bill. On January 29, 2014, a MNWD employee conducted a Home Savings Survey (a District representative visits the customer’s home, reviews outdoor water practices, discusses indoor water use and recommends ways to save water and money by becoming more water efficient). In March 2014, [redacted] was notified at his home by a MNWD employee that he had a leak past the water meter. At the time of our visit, [redacted] was made aware that he had a leak in his irrigation system and movement on the water meter after the house valve, which represents another leak inside the home (possibly by a leaky toilet). In June of 2014, MWND staff made another visit to the [redacted] home, which revealed over irrigation problems. During this visit, the customer said they had recently replaced a leaking toilet valve and completed repairs to an irrigation control valve. On July 17, 2014, [redacted] spoke with a conservation representative who explained the variance process again. (When District representatives spoke with [redacted] they all informed him of MNWD’s variance process. If a leak has been discovered and repaired, the customer could apply for a variance on his/her water bill. After the District receives the completed variance form and proof that the leak was repaired, the customer will receive a credit on their account.) On July 18, 2014, MNWD received the completed variance form. On July 30, 2014, [redacted] called wanting to know when he will receive his bill adjustment. It was explained to him that because the leak and sprinkler repairs were completed on July 16, his August bill will be adjusted (bills are generated for water used the previous month).

In all instances, it is the responsibility of the customer to make necessary repairs to their private plumbing system. MNWD makes every effort to help our customers reduce their water consumption, but it’s up to the customer to follow through on their commitment to save water. MNWD is a public agency and does not make repairs to private plumbing systems. If the customer needs assistance with repairs to their private plumbing system, MNWD recommends contacting a qualified plumber to make the repairs to avoid wasting water unnecessarily.

Sincerely [redacted] Niguel Water District

They double the water billing one year. How can this be legal. I understand that we are in a drought, but do I get money back when it rains. You people are noting but a bunch of crooks.