Just the other day, this article popped up in my Google news feed on my phone. Yes, I admit, I probably waste too much time looking at my phone, but this one caught my attention.
Serious water leak!
It seems the City of Greensboro had a customer who had a leak in the service line between the meter and his house. This must have been quite a leak because the homeowner said his bills were $2,000 to $3,000 per month, and the final total was over $28,000!
Kudos to Greensboro
According to the article, the City notifies customers with high bills by phone, email, and snail mail. Plus, they have a customer portal that lets customers monitor their usage. On top of that, they offer leak adjustments. So, the responsibility lies with the homeowner for not calling a plumber sooner.
Here’s my issue…
The City’s water rates are published in units, with each unit equal to 748 gallons. Obviously, this means they must bill and read in hundred cubic feet (CCF). To be fair, the City’s website does state that 1 unit equals 748 gallons, but I still take exception to adopting rates in anything other than gallons.
Most customers have no concept of what a cubic foot is, much less a “unit”. They do, however, understand what a gallon is. They purchase milk and paint in gallon containers, so that’s a very recognizable unit of measure.
So why not convert the usage to gallons before billing to make things easier for their customers? If you need assistance with doing this, please email me or give me a call.
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