Getting hosed by DEP water bills

Hello Public Advocate,

I've been appealing a water bill that is simply wrong. We've had multiple plumbers submit the proper documentation clearing the property of leaks (they would have to be large, obvious, pooling leaks to make 2 different $20k+ monthly charges, mind you, as we do not an industrial property but 3-story 15-ft wide storefront with 2 apts overhead) to the water department but to no avail. We have replaced all toilets to low-water usage and installed special low-flow fixtures.

I understand that the automatic water meters have had problems in other cities, according the the Public Advocate himself. I imagine many people have this problem but with the DEP or Water Board threatening either cutoff or liens against their businesses or homes, many simply concede to the DEP or Water Board's "forgiveness" of the charges. I wonder what is it that we the payers should be forgived for, first, and second, how would they not enter a collection process if the charges were true?

That said, I understand that your department had a "public hearing" on August 9th - I understand this only because I googled it and saw a NY Times article, not because the event was well-announced - and that it was attended by only nine people. I wonder what the real number of misreported water usage is and I wonder what legal action it would take to recoup what's been lost.
--
Regards,
Ryan

Photo from the NY Times

New water meters are soaking some people

From the Brooklyn Paper:

The city’s new water meter readers are drowning the borough in undeserved bills, say angry Brooklynites who are now paying as much as eight times more for water than they did before.

The Bloomberg administration is slowly installing the automated devices, which read and transmit information to the city about water usage, across the five boroughs in a $252-million program launched in 2009 that was slated to save residents and businesses $90 million thanks to improved accuracy.

But residents say the new meter readers are causing their savings to go down the drain.

“I’ve been frustrated by it and I’m waiting for something to get done with it,” said Midwood resident Naomi Wolf, who claims she used to pay about $1,200 per year for water — before the city billed her $4,800 after installing automated meter readers at her home on Ocean Parkway last September. “I would prefer not to have to pay the city another $3,600 for something that didn’t take place. I use a normal amount of water like everybody else. We don’t have a sprinkler system. I barely even water the tiny patch of grass I have.”

Wolf is hardly alone.

Complaints have flooded Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s office from all five boroughs — but Brooklyn leads the way with 168 complaints about allegedly faulty readers, 42 percent of the citywide total.

Click photo for WPIX news report.

Homeowners getting hosed by DEP

DEP to notify homeowners about water leaks

From NY1:

Landlord Lisha Li was totally in the dark as the water dripped-dripped-dripped deep below a home she rents out in College Point, Queens.

But a little grey box around the side of the home was silently sending messages, and those messages prompted an appreciated call to Li's phone.

"They said, 'Miss Li, we've been tracking all the meters, and we found very abnormal high usage in one of your properties,’” recalled Li.

That high usage was going to cost her $100 a day instead of the normal $8.

Li got a plumber, and on Monday, offered up praise to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a new tracking system from the city's Department of Environmental Protection.

"Weeks or months of undetected leaks can result in hundreds or even thousands of dollars, basically, if you pardon the pun, going down the drain for homeowners,” said the mayor.

Homeowners don't have to do anything special to get called if there's a problem. If you want an email alert, call 311.

The DEP is about three-quarters of the way toward installing the wireless sensors citywide. It credits the gizmos with allowing New Yorkers to track their water usage, and the cost, in real time – and more accurately than before.

But Councilman Mark Weprin complains that accuracy should mean paying less for water. Instead, water rates have more than doubled since Bloomberg took office.

"They're making more money than they initially anticipated and rates should be reflecting that,” said the councilman.

Officials say much of the increase is driven by federally-required improvements.

Water bills on the rise

From NBC:

DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway says some residents are seeing inflated water bills, not because of the new electronic meters, but because of costs associated with last summer’s record high temperatures.

“This is one of the hottest summers ever, so we know that people used more water,” Holloway said. “People use more water when it’s hot. It took more water to water people’s lawns.”

Indeed, the DEP provided detailed water records showing Martin’s water usage last summer spiked significantly in the early morning hours when his sprinkler system was on.

The City also cited water consumption data showing, aside from last summer, New Yorkers haven’t been using more water since the wireless meter installation began.

“Bills are not going up because wireless meters are being installed,” Holloway said.

Still, there is a stubborn perception the radio transmitters might somehow be more prone to errors. After a wireless transmitter was installed in Kay MacDermott’s basement, the retired assistant district attorney noticed the City began billing her for sewer use – even though her home is connected to a private septic tank.

Over the last four years, city water rates have jumped by more than 50 percent and the DEP is forecasting another significant increase in water prices this year. Officials suggested residents who are complaining about the new meters might be erroneously blaming the new technology, when the real culprit behind inflated bills is higher water rates.

Water meters giving inflated readings

From Douglaston Patch:

First it was the EZ-Pass, then the local gas pump. Now radio frequency identification technology is being used by water meter readers throughout northeastern Queens, eliminating the need for home visits by city employees.

But many area residents like Eliott Socci of Douglaston are reporting higher water bills — in some cases, triple that of previous pay periods — which they believe is the result of a recent switchover from traditional to electronic water usage meters.

"I’m telling people to save their bills. Unless this is their way of paying for meters they just put in, it’s not logical," Socci said, who said he first took notice of a spike in his residence's water usage in early October.

Socci claimed that he was billed twice during the period spanning October into November, speculating that The Water Board failed to "close off" his old meter while simultaneously charging him based on usage from its electronic equivalent.

"Newly installed wireless water meter readers do not cause duplicate reads, they simply transmit accurate data ... so that it can be viewed online instead of having to send workers to visually obtain a meter read in person," said a spokesman for the city Department of Environment Protection in response to Socci's allegation of over-billing.

However, Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck), slammed the DEP's practice of considering complaints on a case-by-case basis, instead calling for public hearings on reports of ballooning water bills throughout the city.

Forced compliance?

From SI Live:

So I proceeded to eject Constructamax contractors from my property these last 6 months, it was great fun too. I collected a stack of "Sorry we missed you" door tags, I’m considering papering a wall with them; it is amazing the amount of paper our department of "environmental protectors" have wasted. I also got a call from the DEP, so I asked them what law gave them the right to install a transmitter in my home. They didn’t have an answer, because there IS NO LAW that I am aware of that requires homeowners to acquiesce to this upgrade.

Maybe I’m the only holdout, maybe there are more of us, whatever the reason – our hard working civil servants have figured out a way to deal with it. Thuggery and bullying, using the weapon of choice of the Bloom-thug administration … the FINE. Ooooo, I should have seen it coming. I get a letter from NYC Environmental Protection, scary, sounds almost like some Federal witness protection program, intimidating to a 5-year-old, maybe. Titled in big capital letters "AMR CONTRACTOR ACCESS REQUIRED". Followed by (more capital letters and underlined) "ACCESS REQUIRED TO PROPERTY:" and my account/BBL/address.

The letter goes on about how Contructamax was unable to gain access to my property, no kidding, to install an automated meter reading (AMR) device "and/or replace the meter(s)". Ah, a little clever wording. The work is at no cost to me, it says, ha ha, I say. And then the thugs pull out their weapon of choice:

"The installation must be within the next 30 days to avoid possible Denial of Access procedures which may include fees and penalties". The fee and penalty, aka the FINE. Classic Bloomberg, three terms and counting (with $18 Billion in pocket, can we say FOURTH TERM?). I never denied the DEP access to "read" or "repair" the water meter. No, my denial is to the quasi-legal radio transmitter they are adamantly trying to wire to my toilet.

There is no law that allows them to force the AMR upgrade, but they are allowed to "gain access as a condition of providing water and sewer service", including reading and replacing water meters. So by bundling their radio toys with a water meter "replacement", they can force homeowners to unlock the door, even if there is nothing wrong with the existing water meter.

Are new water meters ripping people off?

Dear Queens Crap,

I've had the new water meter installed. I've also visited their website that lists out your water consumption daily/hourly, etc. I use very little water. I don't cook much or even water my lawn.

Their website says I am using water when I am asleep (hours of 1am to 7am). They also claim I am using 115+ gallons on days when I'm not even home!! I called the DEP and they said they'll send some guy over in ONE month! I don't know if he fixes anything. This is really aggravating me.

You should have your readers check their daily readings on the DEP website because they're scamming us out of our money!! Then they just hire incompetent people so the problem never gets resolved!!!!! This is a pain in my XXXX.

Your Reader

When they won't install your water meter

Dear Queens Crapper,

I recently received a letter from NYC DEP claiming I did not correspond with Constructamax to have the new water meter installed. NYC DEP claims that I will be fined if I do not comply. I called Constructamax and set a appointment twice! First time they said they could not get to the meter. I explained to them the exact location of the meter outside, Constructamax said they would come again.

They still have not showed up. I contacted them a third time to schedule an appointment. They agreed to show. I waited for them and they NEVER showed. I called today and they LIED THROUGH their teeth claiming they came and the meter is installed. I know they did not.

When I call the city they are of no help. Only telling me I will be fined if the meter is not installed. This is really frustrating.

I believe others all over the city is experiencing this. Because when I called Constructamax they said people have been calling them all day about the letter the CITY sent about the fines.

If you could shine any light on this issue it would be great. Thank you.

- Frustrated Resident in Whitestone

Unfortunately, all I can offer is try making the appt online and calling Council Member Halloran. Anyone else experience this problem?

Will new water meters hose us all?

From SI Live:

Everyone in the neighborhood (in fact, the whole city) must be familiar with this letter. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (aka the NYC Water Board on your checks) is touting an "upgrade" to the water meter system, with installation of "Automated Meter Reading (AMR) Devices". Its FREE, "there is no charge to you", the letter proclaims. Swarms of Constructamax trucks adorned with DEP decals are puttering around the neighborhood, with contractor drones ringing doorbells and performing frenzied "upgrades".

Now when a NY City agency that has RAISED my rates because I have conserved water and thereby assisted in their environmental protection mandate - offers me a FREE upgrade, I am naturally paranoid and more than a little curious. How many homeowners have actually checked on exactly WHAT this "free upgrade" being installed in their homes is? Does this letter have any information on this magical "automated" system? Absolutely none, and for good reason.

The DEP is installing radio transmitters at your homes. Without your express consent.

A visit to the DEP website turned this up:

"The Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system consists of small, low-power radio transmitters connected to individual water meters that send daily readings to a network of rooftop receivers throughout the city."

and that’s not all:

"The new AMR technology will be able to send accurate readings to a computerized billing system up to four times a day"

Oh?

What possible legitimate reason could a water supplier (essentially, a utility company) have for constant monitoring of your home? I get a water bill every 3 months, that is four times a YEAR, not four times per DAY.

There is no privacy policy or statement of how the data collected is going to be used, or of what measures are being taken to protect such data. And I’m not even going the whole paranoid-nine-yards by asking WHAT information is actually being collected and transmitted. But this is too good to pass on mentioning, since "DEP's system will leverage DoITT's New York City Wireless Network (NYCWiN)."

Your water bill is going to be routed through the emergency services channel that is capable of streaming video. Policemen, plumbers, who else is going to be on this party line?

"It is highly unlikely to interfere with the operation of any other electronic equipment."

Not impossible, but unlikely. Will grandma clutch her chest as her pacemaker goes berserk every time someone flushes the toilet? Unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely.

This is a colossal (and classic) waste of time and money. If the DEP has the money to throw away on these gizmos, not to mention what they must be paying Constructamax and the other contractor critters, REDUCE MY WATER BILL; don’t come up with creative ways to charge me more tomorrow! In this economy (or lack thereof), homeowners could use the break on their already absurdly high water (and sewer) bills.

And there is no mention anywhere about any legal requirements for installation of the high tech water surveillance system. Is there some local law that makes this "upgrade" mandatory? No one seems to know. Until then, I consider the law to be on my side as I eject Contructamax and other DEP contractors from my sovereign homestead, and continue to use my low-tech spinning dial water meter that clocks me for overpriced water and time-and-a-half sewage rates.

We've been waterboarded again...

From the Daily News:

New Yorkers will get soaked with a 12.9% jump in their water rates and tough new penalties for broken water meters, a city board ordered Friday morning.

The rate hike takes effect July 1, making it the third double-digit rate hike in a row - and creating an issue that could rile middle-class homeowners in the months before the fall elections.

"Enough is enough," City Council Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin (D-Queens) told the Water Board, saying the city needs to do more to cut costs. "These water rate hikes have amounted to nothing more than a backdoor property tax increase."

Queens nabes among first to get new water meters

From the Queens Chronicle:

In an effort to streamline service and avoid estimated bills, the city has begun installing automated water meter equipment in Queens.

The $68 million upgrade will be done on all 831,000 meters for 8 million customers throughout the city. The project will take three years.

Queens and Brooklyn are the first boroughs to be targeted. Cambria Heights and Flushing installations have already begun with other neighborhoods to be added later.

Prior to the work, residents will receive a notification letter from the Department of Environmental Protection. Since some meters are located inside dwellings, workers may have to be admitted.

To find out when your neighborhood is scheduled for work, go to the DEP website at nyc.gov/html/dep. Locations are listed by ZIP codes.