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Resident’s high water bill prompts $260 leak adjustment discussion and plans for new meters
Summary
A resident reported an unexplained spike on an August water bill; the board discussed meter history, approved a proposed $260 leak adjustment, and discussed installing a clamp‑on ultrasonic meter for a hotel/pavilion and additional radio meter replacements to improve leak detection and billing accuracy.
A resident raised an unusually high water bill from August and asked the board to investigate; town staff pulled available 90‑day meter history and board members discussed the limits of the town’s data and options for adjustment and improved metering.
Town staff reported the billing anomaly first visible in August and that the system’s recorded history in the town’s logs extends back only to Aug. 19, limiting their ability to see the earlier spike. The resident said they had manually checked the meter (marking it, turning off household water) and saw no continuing flow, and staff found no visible leak at the property. Board members said the ledger showed a prior instance where a customer received a leak adjustment after high usage tied to pressure washing; using that precedent, a board member proposed a leak adjustment of $260 for the account in question. The motion to grant the $260 leak adjustment was seconded and supported during the meeting.
Separately, the board spent substantial time on metering for a local hotel and pavilion area where much of the usage has historically gone unmetered or been hard to attribute. Members discussed installing a clamp‑on ultrasonic high‑flow meter on the main line to capture total usage without shutting the property’s water off; two contractors (including one identified as TNT owner Andy White and River City contact Tim Bailey) will provide quotes for a clamp‑on ultrasonic installation, which may require excavation and a small power source on a pole for the meter electronics. The board also reported that the town placed an order for radio reading meters to finish the current replacement cycle; some of those meters were expected to be delivered the same day.
Board members described the meter upgrade plan as intended to give earlier and clearer alarms for high flow events so staff can respond quickly rather than searching for problems at night. No final decision on the hotel/pavilion meter vendor or how the meter would integrate with the town’s Badger reading system was recorded at the meeting.
The board also noted staff will pursue the leak-adjustment paperwork and meter‑upgrade quotes and return proposals to a future board meeting for final approval.
