High Water Bill Solution – Municipal Water Accountability

Have you ever received a water bill that seemed higher than expected? If so, you’ve probably contacted your local water company to find out there’s really nothing that can be done about it. Aging water infrastructure across the country is a growing concern for many residents, especially when you learn that your water meter might not even work, and that the city has little interest in fixing it.

One of our users found out their street meter was no longer working and contacted their water company to attempt to have it fixed. They got the runaround and it ended up taking months to get the meter replaced by the city water company. During that time, their bills were getting higher and higher despite knowing the water was not being recorded – how could this be?

Come to find out, the water company simply used the rates from the year prior and averaged out a rate. This might have been acceptable, but in this user’s case, the year prior they had just moved into the home and done extensive landscaping, which sent their water bill into the thousands. Now, a year later, they are using significantly less water, but were drastically overcharged for water they weren’t using.

The water company was initially unapologetic, assuming the user had no way to prove that their usage was not the same as last year. Luckily for this user, they had installed bluebot 3 months prior, and had the data to back it up.

After providing the data to the water company, they issued a refund based on what bluebot’s reported usage was for that time, resulting in a refund of over $1,300!

As unfortunate as it is, this is not all that uncommon. Residents are conditioned to trust that the city utility companies are providing accurate and reliable information, and that there is little you can do if something is inaccurately reported. With bluebot, you have peace of mind knowing that you are able to keep an eye on your actual water usage.