Ferndale High Water Bills Q&A

We discussed water bills at Monday's city council meeting, and here's my takeaway:

Most higher water bills are likely due to one or a combination of factors. 1.) using more water due to being home during the pandemic 2.) changing from estimated reads to a true read due to having the old, failing water meter changed out 3.) slightly longer billing cycles due to COVID stop work (normally 3 months, some are up to 5 months of usage) 4.) unknown leaks 5.) extra water usage associated with summer activities (like watering gardens or filling pools) 6.) potentially a faulty meter device (it's always a possibility)

There were a number of people calling in that had enormous bills, and after looking them up on the water billing software I think those people need to have a deeper examination done on the water system- checking for both leaks as well as testing the water meter. Check your usage here: https://bsaonline.com/?uid=512 and compare the bill you received to the same time period in 2019; if you see ESTIMATE under "read type" then the city was estimating your usage due to the old meter failing to transmit data.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀:

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙚/𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 '𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜' 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨? We are using a monthly year over year average, which is more precise and compares approximate seasonal usage for water.

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙖𝙣 '𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧' 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨? Yes we can, and a full time person will soon be dedicated to water billing and will have this as part of their duties.

𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙? Yes, DPW can run a 'flow test' on that meter to determine if the device has issues. I encourage you to contact the water department if your recent bill is significantly higher than the same time period in 2019 and you don't see evidence that you had been receiving an estimated bill.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣? DPW gets a daily alert for 'critical consumption', and attempts to notify the homeowner 2-3 times. They leave notices on the door and/or call when there's a phone number on file. When we get the new resident-facing online system enabled residents should be able to see usage realtime, and set alerts for themselves at certain thresholds.

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝? We have a combined system, and water usage is the main driver for the cost of sewer. We do not have separate meters for sewer usage, and thus are unable to have a separate read/charge for sewer use; instead, we estimate it. It's not a perfect system, but is incredibly common (for instance, Oak Park also estimates like this due to a combined system)

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 '𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩' 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧? Theoretically, we could- but, rather than doing that, the city notates on the bill your usage associated with the old meter and then usage for the new meter. It's over on the left hand side of the bill under 'charge code', look for 'water used old meter'.

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𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚? No, it is a pass-through charge.

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𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: https://www.ferndalemi.gov/.../faq-citywide-water-meter...

I RECEIVED MY WATER BILL AND IT'S HIGHER (OR LOWER) THAN USUAL... WHAT'S GOING ON? The likely culprit: you have received an actual water meter reading after an estimated, or several estimated bills. As the City's older water meters and their radios began failing at increasing rates, it became impossible for staff to keep up with repairs and individual in-person readings. For those with failing meter radios, the Finance Department began estimating bills (estimate of the previous three billing cycles). For some properties, these estimates may have been higher or lower (significantly so, in some cases) than normal usages. The result: several months of bills—up to a year and a half—that weren't reflective of a property's true water usage. The first actual read with the new meter is "catching up," creating a higher or lower bill.

IS THAT THE ONLY REASON A BILL MAY BE HIGHER? It's the most likely reason, but not the only possibility. The water meter replacement contractor work-stoppage due to COVID caused a data delay that may have prompted a small number of residents to have received a bill for longer than the typical three-month billing cycle—up to five months worth. There is also the chance that a property is experiencing an individual issue, such as a leak, extra usage because of summer activities (pools, garden and lawn watering, etc.), or something similar. If you have questions about this kind of scenario, please contact the Water Billing staff.

MY BILL IS HIGHER THAN USUAL AND I'M HAVING TROUBLE PAYING IT... WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? At the start of the pandemic, the Finance Department began offering assistance benefits, including adding NO credit card or late fees for any customers. This will continue going forward until otherwise communicated. Additionally, the City offers an easy billing payment plan, available to anyone for any reason; to apply, simply complete and submit the online form. https://ferndalemi.seamlessdocs.com/f/WaterPaymentPlan

I TRIED CONTACTING THE WATER BILLING DEPARTMENT BUT I DIDN'T RECEIVE A RESPONSE We apologize for this, and we have taken steps to ensure prompt customer service. Two staff vacancies in the department plus a much-larger-than-average call and email volume led to some difficulty with our response times. The Finance Department has devoted a staff member exclusively to water billing and meter replacement questions and concerns, and all calls and emails will be prioritized for response. Contact us at 248-546-2374 or by email at waterbilling@ferndalemi.gov and we'll be happy to assist you.