Water Bills Hit Boiling Point for Pike Residents

(posted June 28)

Veolia Water Indianapolis' continuing practice of estimating water bills struck a sensitive cord with ratepayers during a Q and A session at City County Councilor Janice McHenry's June 28 town hall meeting. Lu Ann Baker of Veolia could not quell the ratepayers concerns as residents insisted that it was an unfair system that forces them to pay estimated bills in the winter based on summer usage.

One ratepayer complained that his meter had not been read from September to April. Baker contended the "estimating logic" to charge customers is approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. She said the base rate increased by 29 percent in May once the five year freeze was lifted. The City of Indianapolis purchased the privately owned water company in 2002. At that time, the City agreed to freeze rates for five years. She blamed the dramatic change in water bills due to the long-term high temperatures last year coupled with this year's base rate increase. These events happened before McHenry was elected into office.

Baker said Veolia has been in conversation with IURC about the estimating logic issue due to a couple of complaints. For now, she contended the bill estimation "should be trued up."

Veolia's contract only calls for meters to be read six times a year. The contract also forgoes the meter reading process pending "extenuating circumstances and weather." Baker explained the lack of readings was not due to a lack of manpower but due to the fact that meters readers can't read meters below a certain temperature. She stated that although 2007-2008 had fewer days impacted for reading than the previous two years, the biggest concern is the ability to open and to close during inclement weather. If the meter seal fails to close, it is likely the pipes will freeze, making the utility company liable for repairs.

Resident Steve Jones said the estimation practice can be a hardship. The billing method forced his neighbor to pay by credit card. He suspected that the estimation process is financially impacting a lot of people in Pike Township.

Don Rothenberger also protested Veolia's incentive payment for reading meters, even with inaccurate results. Baker said Veolia's contract has 37 different incentives tied to its performance agreement with the city. There were no fewer readings this year than last. One of the incentives deals with the accuracy of meter reading. That incentive was achieved.

Rothenberger said "You are the only company that has problems with estimation." He said that the light and gas companies did not have these problems. He disagreed with Baker's answer that weather prevents readings. "Personally, I am not buying it. It (the meter) was never covered with snow."

He said "it added insult to injury" for Veolia to receive an incentive for over billing that cost him hundreds of dollars more. The inaccuracy of the water bills are also absorb in the sewer bills.

Maya Wagle complained that "your customer service does not even ask how many people are living there, they told me they were billing me four people." She said she could not have used that much water if she used the restroom 50 times per day.

She said she was able to get a refund, but she said the onus should be on the water company to ask the question. She was concerned about the over-billing that people would not even think to question.

Baker said the customer service agent should have asked because sewer rates are tied to water usage.

Wagle also thought it was poor planning to increase the rate by 29 percent. She said that it was difficult for some ratepayers to budget for that large of an increase. She thought the increase should have happened in an incremental basis. She was upset that she did not receive notice about the rate increase.

Baker also discussed Veolia's water conservation ad campaign entitled "Using Water Wisely". She said the company is looking into recycling water back into system from the water water treatment plant. The waste water would be treated and looped into the water supply instead of sending it downstream.

She said the TW Moses plant located on 56th Street, just east of Dandy Trail, will undergo construction in the fall in order to meet EPA guidelines to improve water quality. Construction will remain on the property but truck traffic will be using 56th Street.

The EPA is requiring the removal of disinfection by-products (DBP) created by using chlorine to treat water. She said chemical residuals are created from the chlorination.