| Author | Message | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
There are three major utilities that make urban living possible, Gas, Electricity and Water. When there is a gas break in a domicile, the gas utility gives it high priority, because it is an immediate health hazard. For this reason, the user does not expect to be billed for any length of time for leakage. The same is true for electricity. The nature of its use rarely allows for leakage without being noticed. However, water can leak silently through the unsecured seal of a toilet tank for months without being detected. Furthermore, it presents no overt danger and so can go undetected until the next meter reading. Such leakage is especially true of old houses, such as the ones we have here in HP. It is obvious that the basic nature of the water utility is different than gas and electricity, in that much less emphasis is given to leakage in water systems. Consequently, there simply isn't the corresponding service infrastructure to deal with such leaks. Because of this, a major rethink has to be forthcoming as to penalties for what we could term 'unintended water use'. While it is true that the customer is responsible for water containment within their domicile or business, said customer can be completely unaware of unintended water use for stated reasons. Because of the considerable lapse of time between actual water meter readings, it seems to me that the responsibility for unintended water use ought to be carried by both the customer and the utility. Perhaps the following arrangement could be considered: Unintended water use is easily detected by reviewing the continuing record of the customers water use. When an extraordinary spike in water use appears, the bill should be reckoned by the average of all the other bills, perhaps with a small (payable) fine. After all, the leakage of HP water before it reaches the customer is estimated to be over 50% - a loss that would and could not be tolerated if it were an electricity or gas utility. If forgiveness for such leakage is ever-present for the water utility, should it not be passed on to the customer? | ||
| William AkbarX
|
Dear Stephen, I will always respect whatever you say or do.But the water bill crisis that our Highland Park citizens are facing is the water department's fault.Why? Because they are the ones who is sending out incorrect water bills.The water dept should not allow water bills to get out of hand,and so bad until our elderly can't afford to pay out that kind of money.Also look at the water we all have to drink.The water is nasty and cloudy.I suppose that's the Citizens fault too? Also there is a consumer's law that prevent a utility company from shutting a senior citizen, or anyone who have someone in the household who is ill.Thereforth the utility & the citizens can make some form of an agreement to pay the bill without a shutoff notice. I encourage citizens to learn about your comsumers rights,or feel free to contact Mrs Kramer,Or I am availible to assist in learning consumer's rights. Sign WilliamX | ||
| William AkbarX
|
Thanks God,for our City Council for not approving the Rothchild-Wright Group,to handle our City's water business.Ms Pearson,I am sure that you could have came up with a better idea.I can't understand why Ms Pearson,did not collect more details,and get a business bio on Rothchild-Wright Group.I found that night to be very amusing,but a little strange for a so-called business presentation.Councilman Ross, May GOD bless you my Brother.I know you meant well,and was trying to watch out for our City's future.But you seem to have over looked somethings.You are still our Councilman,and don't you forget that. Well Citizens,let's pray that this crisis won't continue another three years. Power to the People of Highland Park. Sincerely, William AkbarX | ||
| darwinparks
|
Hello, everyone! William Akbar asked me to post some comments to this discussion thread in response to concerns about water billings and water quality. While I do not have the entire picture regarding the problems with your water system, I can comment on what I have read on this discussion thread from the perspective of a city manager. I hope that this helps. It appears that there are two concerns. The first is water billings. From Stephen's comments, some residents are concerned about being billed for water that was inadvertently used as a result of a water leak in a home, such as continuously running toilet or piping leaks. There also appears to be concerns regarding billing accuracy. As a city manager for a Detroit metropolitan community, I can tell you that, in our community, it is the responsibility of homeowners to keep their inside plumbing in good repair. Any water that passes through the meter in the home becomes the responsibility of the homeowner to pay. However, I recently recommended to city council a change in the policy to permit a reduction in the utility billings for the sewer portion of the bill for those homeowners who have a leak, get it repaired, and provide a copy of the plumber's bill to the city. In that case, the city will calculate the homeowners average water usage based on billing history, and only bill the homeowner for the sewer use based on the average. The water still must be paid by the homeowner, and the reason for this is that it costs money to treat the water and distribute it to homes (chemicals, equipment, manpower, etc.). If the city were to forgive the cost of the water lost through leakage, the city would theoretically have to raise its rates for everyone to make up the lost revenue. This would not be fair to water customers that maintain their plumbing in good repair. However, since leaked water theoretically does not enter the sanitary sewer system, a homeowner with a leak should not have to pay for sewer service that they did not receive. We have found this to be a very fair compromise. Regarding billing accuracy, I would have to know more about your system of billing. What software program is used for utility billings? How often are meters read? Are meters maintained properly? What types of meters are used--are they manually read or electronically read? In our community, we use the Windows-based version of FundBalance. We use Sensus meters with remote electronic meter readings. Our community is divided into three billing districts, and each district's meters are read quarterly. The meter readings are downloaded electronically from the meter reader equipment to our computer system, and the software generates the billings. If a person complains that they have a high water bill, we first ask them to check their plumbing for leaks and their toilets for faulty float balls or stoppers. Our personnel will even go out to the home and help the homeowner search for leaks. If no leak is found, our personnel will remove the meter, install a temporary meter, and test the meter for accuracy using industry standards (usually accuracy means a reading within 95% to 105% of actual water sent through the meter). If the meter is found to be reading inaccurately, the city will replace the meter free of charge and recalculate the bill based upon the customer's historical average water use. If the meter tests accurately, the homeowner must pay a $40 administrative charge for labor and equipment. There are many components that go into preparing a water bill, so I would need more specifics on your system. The second concern appears to be water quality. Again, I would need to know more specifics about your water and the problems. Cloudy water, if it is white cloudy and the cloudiness disappears after about a minute, is usually nothing more than air in the water. If the cloudiness is a color other than white and lingers indefinitely, it could be a more serious problem and you should consult with the Water Department to determine what tests have been performed on the water and when. The Water Department should be issuing, at the least, an annual Water Quality Report that indicates the results of its water testing. I would be happy to provide a copy of our Water Quality Report for anyone who is interested to give you an idea of its content. If your water is rusty color, it is probably just that...rust...and is a normal occurrence as a result of sedimentation in the water mains or home plumbing. If you feel you may have serious problems with water quality, consult with your Water Department, the City Administrator, or request that the Wayne County Health Department perform sample testing if they offer testing services. If you would like to post more detailed information about your concerns, I may be able to help you more. I hope I have been able to help at least a little. Stephen and William, please keep up the great work that both of you do! I have read many of your postings and think that it's great that you are so involved in your community. Darwin Parks | ||
| Harriett Hooks Billingslea |
I am glad that the City Counsel did not approve the water contract with the RWG,Inc. I also could not find any information about the company on the internet. However, I was able to find out that Mr. Jos M. Wright is listed as the president, secretary, and treasurer of the company. I thought that was odd. The director is Jos O. Wright, and Sheilah D. Wright. The company was incorporated January 5, 1996. It seems to me that an eight year old company should have information available, at minimum annual reports and financial reports. The company should be investigated as closely as one would investigate a company that you were considering investing your money in. Would you invest in a company that you can't find any information on? In addition, information should be available detailing the company's expertise and experience in managing water systems. Contact should be made with previous or current customers of the company with similar demographics as HP. Lastly, although Ms. Pierson has the last word, she is also required to be reasonable, and not jump from the frying pan into the fire. | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
Hi Hariett, I couldn't agree more. The proponents seem so geeked that this mysterious company is willing to put a million dollars into maintaining the system, but keep in mind that over 5 million has been used to upgrade the system, not including day to day maintanance. A million dollars is fairly insignificant amount when considering a utility of this magnitude. To put it into perspective, if someone were to build the HP water department today, laying pipes from Lake Sinclair, the cost would approach a billion dollars. The HP water department is a significant utility, potentially capable of generating a LOT of income for HP. It ought to be treated accordingly. Lending it out to this fly-by-night LLC amounts to a dereliction of duty by those responsible. So sad that the Governors office, which as far as helping HP is talking the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk, there's no resourses for a feasibility study so at the very least, Ramona Pearson has the tools to broker the Utility in a responsible manner. Proponants justify surrendering day to day maintenance to RWG LLC by suggesting that if it doesn't work out, we're "Back to square one." This a cavaleer attitude will only end in tears. A little web research reveals the damage fly-by-night companies do to public utilities. Even if they left everything intact, the fact that they failed leaves the HP water utility with a reputation, making it all but impossible to attract serious and responsible investors. | ||
| William AkbarX |
I totally agree Stephen,that we are back to square one.However,We have elected people to handle our city business,and community affairs. What are they doing to help? We need to get a solution quick to the problem. It's a damm shame that we have to have outside help to manage our own water system.I can't help but wonder why Ms Pearson,did not seek more information on the Rothchild-Wright Group.Mr Wright's presentation was very un-professional.I believe that we need a all department sweep.Because I have seen drivers of the water dept everywhere but where they're suppose to be. The main thing is that it's to much confusion amoung our own City Administration. that's my comments. | ||
| Anonymous |
mr.goodfellow what the hey do you know about water but for drinking it . | ||
| WilliamX |
Dear Stephen. As a long time admire of your site,and a regular viewer,take a suggestion from me,and it will ice all this BS.I will call you to share my suggestion with you.Because as you see another anonymous (coward) is posting venom.I thought you could get their ISP? Check that out. TO YOU MY NAME IS IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER OF THIS POST.NO shame to show my name. | ||
| Anonymous |
can anyone figer out why i see c.p.i the prime contractor for h.p. doing subpar work and charge the city twice what it should charge and no over sight on the work that is done.can any one ask k.bey why their work is not inspeced and why in some cases work is done and the head of the water don,t have a clue what work is done. | ||
| WilliamX |
Anonymous I totally agree with your post to a certain degree.However My group the HIGHLAND PARK MOVEMENT is preparing a water bill proposal to share with the City Manager,City Council,and the purpose of our proposal is to help save our senior citizens from losing their homes to high water bills,and thought our Sister Community group we hope to share the same plan with Detroit City Council.It's not the water rates itself that's high,it the sewage usage that's so high,and this high rate is violating our Human Rights. |
