Nickelsville Water Department

Upon investigating the complaint identified by ID#[redacted] the following facts were found in relationship to the issues raised:1. "My water bill fluctuates each month" -  Upon reviewing the water bills of the customer from 1/31/13 until 12/29/15, the range was only $27.40 to...

$34.35, with the vast majority of bills ranging from $28.00 to $32.00.  We feel that this is actually a quite stable pattern and certainly do not feel that this is a burdensome nor unusual. (In this entire time there were only 2 anomalies - $39.75 on 12/29/14 - we have no idea why the customer used more water on that occasion.  The second anomaly occurred as a result of an error by a Town Employee and all water customers received adjustments to their bill.)  A possible other contributing factor to this issue is that the Town calculates it base rate on only 1,000 gallons of water usage to help our single house-hold, elderly, and LMI families who typically use less water. This helps them avoid paying each month for water that they don't use and keeps their bills lower, but it does sometimes result in more minor fluctuations to their bills.2.  "My bill is higher than house-holds with 4 or 5 in the family" - Water meters are read each month (except during extreme weather) and bills are calculated on gallons used. Some households regularly use more or less water than their neighbors based on a variety of household practices, routines, and factors.  This particular customer lives outside the Town limits and is subject to a base rate of $24.00 (rather than the $17.00 charged to in-Town customers) as a result.  Whether this customer has leaks that may be contributing to her bill is unknown to us, but is not reliably ruled out by her allegation that her meter wasn't running when she checked.  Of course water meters can fail.  When we become aware of a faulty meter we replace them.  However the profile of this customer's readings does not indicate the sort of fluctuations that a faulty meter would normally show.  Our Town rates for both in and out of town customers are consistently below the Regional Average as calculated and reported by our regional planning district office.I believe this addresses the issues that we are aware of relative to this customer's complaints.  If there are other issues in the future, we will be glad to address them.Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this issue.[redacted]Vice Mayor, Town of Nickelsville, Va.

Review: My water bill fluctuates each month. I live along and my bill is higher than households of four or five in the family. I use the same amount or close each month. I have checked for leaks and I have none; the meter would run continuously if I did. The water department did 1 adjustment in October after a town meeting where a large amount of customers had been extremely overcharged. They don't read the meters each month; when they do they add a zero to the end of each reading. First 1,000 gallons is supposedly $18.00. I've also been told $24.00.Desired Settlement: Give customers credits from January 2015 - present on overcharging. Read meter correctly each month. I have sent copies of bills. You will see how much they differ each month. I use around the same amount each month, Nothing has changed. May need new meter installed.

Business

Response:

Upon investigating the complaint identified by ID#[redacted] the following facts were found in relationship to the issues raised:1. "My water bill fluctuates each month" - Upon reviewing the water bills of the customer from 1/31/13 until 12/29/15, the range was only $27.40 to $34.35, with the vast majority of bills ranging from $28.00 to $32.00. We feel that this is actually a quite stable pattern and certainly do not feel that this is a burdensome nor unusual. (In this entire time there were only 2 anomalies - $39.75 on 12/29/14 - we have no idea why the customer used more water on that occasion. The second anomaly occurred as a result of an error by a Town Employee and all water customers received adjustments to their bill.) A possible other contributing factor to this issue is that the Town calculates it base rate on only 1,000 gallons of water usage to help our single house-hold, elderly, and LMI families who typically use less water. This helps them avoid paying each month for water that they don't use and keeps their bills lower, but it does sometimes result in more minor fluctuations to their bills.2. "My bill is higher than house-holds with 4 or 5 in the family" - Water meters are read each month (except during extreme weather) and bills are calculated on gallons used. Some households regularly use more or less water than their neighbors based on a variety of household practices, routines, and factors. This particular customer lives outside the Town limits and is subject to a base rate of $24.00 (rather than the $17.00 charged to in-Town customers) as a result. Whether this customer has leaks that may be contributing to her bill is unknown to us, but is not reliably ruled out by her allegation that her meter wasn't running when she checked. Of course water meters can fail. When we become aware of a faulty meter we replace them. However the profile of this customer's readings does not indicate the sort of fluctuations that a faulty meter would normally show. Our Town rates for both in and out of town customers are consistently below the Regional Average as calculated and reported by our regional planning district office.I believe this addresses the issues that we are aware of relative to this customer's complaints. If there are other issues in the future, we will be glad to address them.Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this issue.[redacted]Vice Mayor, Town of Nickelsville, Va.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer 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.

Regards,