Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Water Bill Won't Be Changed; Mower Is Bought

Getting a water bill adjusted proved to be a problem for Gurdon's Carl McMichael Monday night.

He approached the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission with a complaint about his bill, which he said was exorbitant for two people. His monthly usage, however, according to department records, fluctuated from 8,800 gallons per month to 29,000 gallons a month.

Harold Hurst, department supervisor, told the commissioners he agreed McMichael's bill seems to be excessive, but has not been able to find a cause for the problem.

Additionally, no one knows where the water appears to be going.

McMichael told the commission he has had a plumber come to his home and check for possible leaks. He said all problems found were corrected.

Hurst said he put in a new meter at the McMichael home in October, at the homeowner's insistence.

When the new meter was installed, the usage dropped from about 12,000 gallons from the month before to 8,800 gallons.

But, when the old meter was taken back to the shop Hurst had it tested -- twice. The two tests were done with different new meters. Each time, the old meter tested perfectly.

"We can find no problem," Hurst said. "I didn't adjust his bill because we didn't find a problem with the meter."

Hurst said McMichael has been on line with the department for 73 months and has shown no consistent usage. He said his crews were unable to find a leak in the old meter when it was tested twice.

"We don't adjust a bill until we find a problem. We haven't found one here," he said.

McMichael told the commission he had his six children living in the home until the last one left in 1993, and doesn't dispute the bills up until July of 1995.

He said his children still come in and out with their families, but normally the only person in the house all day is his wife, who suffers from a heart condition.

"I bathe twice a day," he said. "I don't water my lawn or wash my vehicles.

"I've had my lines, commodes and all appliances that use water checked, and fixed. There's been no problem since then, and that was in May or June."

Hurst said the department policy is if an error is found on the department's behalf, the bill is adjusted to normal usage.

However, he said, if a leak is found, only the sewer bill is adjusted, the homeowner must pay for the water used.

The problem in this case, though, is no leak has been found, and the old water meter shows to be working perfectly.

Hurst told McMichael if he could show any reason besides the drop in usage from October to November, the department would adjust his bill gladly.

He said if there is a continuous leak, the meter should constantly be running. Yet when crews have gone to the McMichael home, the meter has not been going.

Normally, with a flow meter, if the meter is going bad it slows down and registers low -- not high.

Both sides agreed there seems to be a problem, but neither could determine what it is, other than a considerable amount of water is going somewhere.

McMichael said his commodes do not leak, and he has a brick in the bottom of the tank to displace more water and make it fill faster.

He said the hot water heater in his home has been replaced, the lines pressure checked and no problems found.

According to McMichael, his wife must take a two-hour nap daily because of her health.

He said they wash clothes three times a week and only do their dishes when there is a full load for the dishwasher.

"My wife is sick," he said. "She's upset over this. We're not using the water. Our faucets don't drip. All we use is what we use during the day, there's no way we (two people) used 24,000 gallons of water.

"I have no problem with what Harold said, but I want to know where the water's going."

McMichael said his past history had five, six and seven people in the home using water. This, he said, was not the problem and not the basis for the complaint.

His beef was with two people in the house, using 24,000 gallons would flood the home if there was a leak.

Hurst said all the department can do is base its decision on the past usage history, and it shows the capability of having 24,000 gallons used in a month.

The commission sympathized with McMichael, but agreed with no proof of where the water is going, and based on his past usage history, there is no way they could adjust his bill.

The commissioners also expressed their concern about setting a precedent in this case, fearing if they adjusted McMichael's bill with no proof, others would come in complaining their bills were too high as well and want them adjusted accordingly.

McMichael, arguing his case, gave the department permission to come to his home and check everything out to see if they could find a problem.

He also said his wife told him the commission would not adjust their bill in this matter.

"My wife has heart trouble," he said. "She said you'd deny it tonight. If she comes here and gets upset it will kill her. If it does, I'll sue you."

Commissioner Don Morehead said the department isn't denying the claim, it just needs some kind of proof.

Bill Dulin, commission chairman, suggested checking the usage for the next three months, and if it stays lower McMichael would have more ground to stand on.

Hurst again said if the department could find any reason he would gladly adjust the bill, but until a problem is found, it can't be done.

In other business, Hurst informed the panel water and sewer services have been hooked up to the new Gurdon High School, which officially opened Tuesday morning.

He said rural water project engineer Charles Summerford is preparing to start work on getting easements needed for the parent portion of the project.

This, Hurst said, involves about 400 residents. He said there could be a problem getting the easements from those who didn't sign up for the service, and it could require condemnation proceedings.

However, if the property must be condemned, the county will be responsible for doing it.

Hurst told the board the department has to harvest the plants at the treatment facility, and has ordered a sickle mower to do the job. The mower, he said, cost a little more than $1,500. It is a five-foot sickle cutter, much like a hay cutter, and will be used to cut the bull rushes at the plant. The machine is belt-driven and has dual solid notched tires about 10 inches wide.

Hurst said he had originally planned to use the department's tractor, but the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology said no. The PC&E said the tractor weighed too much and would pack the rocks down to a point where it would