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Broken water meter leads to big bill for Tulsa family

By: Pete Knutson

Posted at 7:33 AM, Sep 28, 2022

and last updated 2022-09-28 08:33:40-04

TULSA, Okla. — Most of us know we should take a close look at all those bills we get every month, no matter how complicated they may seem. One Tulsa family wishes they had done just that, when a several hundred dollar bill, came out of the blue.

Tending to her flowers, with a garden hose, Nora Delay tells us running water is something most take for granted. Just like the bill you get every month for using it.

“I really didn’t pay attention. I get a bill, I pay it, you know.”

But Nora would soon find out the $60 to $70 she was billed every month for more than a year was about to change when this month’s blue water bill read almost a thousand bucks.

“Well, I read it and it thought, there’s got to be something wrong.”

After spending several lunch hours on hold trying to call the water department, Nora finally found out her water meter was broken, for more than a year.

“And it took a year to figure it out? Come on.”

Her last few monthly bills, as it turns out, had only been for sewer and stormwater, trash, and EMSA service. So now, Nora says, the city told her to pay up or get cut off.

Nora did get a letter explaining what happened which stated she could make arrangements to pay those hundreds of dollars over 12 months.

“I think it’s still wrong because it wasn’t my fault. It was their fault. Somebody was coming out to check that every month and they should figure hey, there’s something wrong.”

The city tells the 2 News Oklahoma Problem Solvers this case, like others, happened because it’s short-staffed, and hasn’t been able to make it out to every neighborhood and actually read every meter.

A city representative detailed Nora’s case. Unnoticed by the city, her water meter died in December 2020. It wasn’t until last February when the billing department noticed discrepancies in Nora’s account.

It ordered a field check, which resulted in a new meter being installed in April.

For the next two months, the city reviewed the water usage at Nora’s address, to see if it was in line with their normal usage. This month, she received a bill for $984.

But even though the meter had been dead for 16 months, the city back billed Nora for only 12 months, the most allowed by city ordinance.

Still, Nora calls it complicated and confusing.

“I don’t think it’s fair that I should pay for somebody else’s mistakes.”

In the end, her family did use that water all those months, but that certainly doesn’t douse the shock of that thousand-dollar utility bill.

Currently, there are 160,000 meters in the city of Tulsa. During the last year and a half, the city says it didn’t have the manpower to search for dead meters.

The city recommends customers review their utility bills, especially if they notice a change in usage or charges, and have an idea of how much water they use during different seasons of the year.

Doing that can help head off a much larger surprise bill later on.

Contact the Problem Solvers: