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Resident urges Beach Haven to forgive sewer charges after undetected meter break
Summary
A Beach Haven resident told the borough council her water meter broke while her unit was vacant, she received no timely notice and was billed for sewer usage she says did not enter the sewer system; she asked the borough to consider forgiving sewer charges and to enroll residents in AquaHawk monitoring automatically.
Maria Lee Carvalo, who identified herself as a resident at 204 Angleside A Unit A, told the Borough of Beach Haven council on May 28 that a broken water meter produced high usage while her home was vacant and that she received no timely notice before getting a large bill.
Carvalo said she first contacted the borough on May 14 but received no follow-up. When she returned in person on May 26, finance staff pulled a report showing continuous flow at about 20 gallons an hour since February, which she says indicates a leak. Town staff later confirmed a broken meter after inspecting under her unit, she said; because the triplex configuration prevented the borough from shutting water off at the curb, she had to travel two hours to hire a private plumber to stop the flow and install a replacement meter.
Carvalo asked the council to consider forgiving sewer charges for the affected quarter and to reimburse some water charges incurred while the leak was ongoing, saying the leak discharged to the driveway and did not enter the borough sewer system. She also urged the borough to automatically enroll property owners in AquaHawk—an automated leak-detection/alert service—so owners receive immediate alerts when usage spikes.
The transcript shows borough staff or council members acknowledged the concern and said they would discuss the matter and get back to her, but no formal decision or deadline was recorded during the meeting. The council did not take any vote on the request at the meeting.
Why it matters: If leaks are billed as sewer use, residents can face substantially higher charges; earlier alerts (by services such as AquaHawk) can reduce bills and property damage. Carvalo’s request raises policy questions about the borough’s notice processes, emergency shutoff procedures, and whether the borough will offer customer relief in cases where losses did not enter the sewer system.
What’s next: Council members said they would investigate and follow up with the resident, but no timeline or formal action was announced at the May 28 meeting.
