City forgives $900 water bill due to mix up
A small ice rink opened along County Road 400 South in Huntingburg last month.
Not on purpose, but the 104,720 gallons of water a rural Huntingburg couple was charged for could have created one if it all hadn’t leaked underground.
The couple expected an increase on their average 7,500 gallons of monthly usage, but the 104,000 gallons came as a shock and they decided to ask the city to forgive some of the bill.
But, the city was also responsible for some of the lost water.
Sometime in between November and December, Henry and Debbie Ford’s water service line burst between the meter and their home on 400S.
A water utility employee with the city was gathering usage data from meters in the area. This is done by a radio device that collects readings as the employee walks or drives by the meter. The device signaled an unusual increase in usage on one of two meters that sat near each other along 400S.
It was a convoluted situation in which the employee notified the wrong utility customers — the Fords’ neighbor — of the possible water line break. That homeowner then contacted a plumber and repaired the line but then determined the line actually belonged to the Fords. The Fords’ son-in-law is a licensed plumber and would have completed the work at a significant discount.
In addition, it took four days between the meter reader noticing the excess usage and a work order being issued for the meter and service line because the meter the reading occurred at the end of the day on a Friday.
“I got involved when it was mass confusion,” Water Utility Superintendent Todd Williams said.
The distance between the homes and meters made it hard to determine what meter belonged to what home, according to Williams.
The Fords’ home is at least 1500 feet from the meters.
The Huntingburg Common Council agreed to forgive over $800 of the current water bill and to forgive any excess on the next two billing cycles. The council averaged the Fords’ last three bills to determine the base rate of about $87 for the next two billing cycles.
In return, the Fords agreed to pay the $191 in plumbing charges despite the city’s error.
City Attorney Phil Schneider recommended the city create a procedure for forgiveness of excessively high utility bills caused by undetectable utility problems.
He then jokingly advised the Fords to not wash their cars excessively over the next two billing cycles.
“In the end, the council did the right thing,” Williams said.
