Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Meter Checks to Cost

It could soon cost customers of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission $15 to get their meters checked.

In its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the commissioners agreed to impose a $15 fee if a customer requests getting a meter checked and the meter turns out to be functioning properly. There will be no charge if the water meter is malfunctioning.

Harold Hurst, general manager for the department, said it costs the department every time they check a meter. Some residents complain their water bills are too high and they aren't using as much water as the meter says.

This leads to meters being checked and replaced. However, replacing a meter does not always solve the problem, Hurst said. There are times when the problem can be caused from plumbing gone bad, or people simply not realizing how much water they are using.

He said the department checks old meters by hooking them up in line with new ones and making sure the gauges work in sync.

"This has been an unusual summer," he said. "We've not been able to convince people the meters work when they do." Part of the problem has been the extended drought the area is suffering from, along with extremely high temperatures during the summer months, and into the fall.

Hurst said his department tries to get people to check their homes first and see if there are any leaks before calling him. However, just the opposite is happening -- people call the water department first, before seeing if they have another problem.

Commissioner Bill Dulin said if a meter is found to be faulty, the customer should get a credit on their bill.

Hurst said there was no problem in doing that, but, people argue when their meters are found to be working properly, and still ask for a credit.

"We try to tell people who water their lawns to install a sprinkler meter," he said. A meter for sprinkler systems, Hurst told the board, does not have a charge for sewer services or garbage pickup on it.

"The charge," he continued, "won't affect many people." There were only three who had registered complaints about their meters. Hurst said it costs the department $35.50 per meter, plus labor to install. He said some people accuse his workers of not reading their meters.

Board member Carroll Coston said the people ought to bear some of the responsibility for their water bills.

The panel then approved a $15 charge for testing meters, with no charge if the meter is defective.

In other business, Hurst said a preconstruction conference for the water and sewer project is scheduled for Friday. This, he said, establishes pay schedules for the contractor and engineer.

Charles Summerford, project engineer, said he hopes a work order can be issued Friday after the meeting, and construction can begin within the next 10 days thereafter.

"The contractor is ready," Hurst said. "The school has deposited the money into the construction account for the system ($58,700), and all easements have been acquired between the city and Gurdon High School. There should be no more holdups."

Customers on the Gurdon Water System should be prepared. The commission was informed under a bond issue the cutoff period can be dropped from a 60-day notice to a 30-day notice. Hurst and the commission agreed to begin giving cutoff notices on a 30-day basis.

This is being done because of the amount of bad debts incurred from people not paying their bills. The bad debt expense for September was $956.

Part of these bad debts come from the former owner of Piggly Wiggly, who left with an outstanding bill of $364.83.

The new owners have installed a meter in their name, as one of the 15 new accounts for the department.

In other business, the board was told Rhonda Spruill has been hired to replace Pam Wilson, who will be leaving at the end of the year. Spruill worked for the department earlier while Wilson was recovering from surgery.