Beginning in the fall of 2023, some Newton residents have received one-time, unusually high water bills – with one reaching up to $67,000 and some in the range of $15,000 – initially with a very short timeframe to pay.
The unusually high water bills are the result of discrepancies in water-meter readings taken as old meters are replaced due to malfunctions in water meter reading transmission units (MTUs). To fix the malfunctions, which started in 2019, the City needed to replace water meters and MTUs for all residences and businesses because the original supplier of MTUs could no longer support them or provide sufficient replacements. This meter-replacement project is expected to be completed by September, 2025. In the interim, without functioning MTUs, the City has been sending estimated water bills based on usage patterns over the previous four years.
Each quarter, all property owners with an estimated bill are asked to submit a photo of their water meter gauge and send it to the Water Billing Department, so that their bills can be adjusted to reflect their actual water use. The Department of Public Works (DPW) told Fig City News, “[Since about early 2023] we have tried our best to consistently incorporate the information in the actual read from the photo into our estimated reads. (Before then, the information in the actual read from the photo were incorporated, but not as consistently as we are now.)”
Problems arose as meters were replaced, due to discrepancies between manual readings of the old meters vs. the series of quarterly estimates. The DPW has said, “Despite the MTU malfunctions, the water meters continue to accurately record water usage.” With the new, accurate readings, property owners who did not send their water-meter gauge information to the City receive a “catchup bill” based on the accurate reading of their old meter as it is replaced. The City’s contractor has a goal of replacing about 500 meters each week, resulting in about 6000 “catchup bills” each quarter, some of which may be higher than estimates. While the City has not reported the percentage of water bills that are unusually large, the DPW told Fig City News, “Anecdotally, it appears to be a small percentage of bills that exceed $2000 [over previous bills].”
The DPW told Fig City News that large variances are usually due to changes in the living situation in a home, such as “addition of an irrigation system, or return of children from college or travel, [or] …events such as extended travel and vacancy or vacancy due to remodeling and reconstruction.”
While some individual “catchup bills” are high, the DPW told Fig City News that overall, “No overbilling has occurred. …The [aggregate] amount billed to customers compared to Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) billing to Newton is lower by approximately 20%. The reasons for this [20% decrease below MWRA billing] include the aged water infrastructure which allows for leakage, unbilled usage (such as hydrants, other municipal), and unregistered (unbilled) access to the water system. …The payments owed to the MWRA unaccounted for by the estimates were paid by the City, but now, owners are expected to pay for their actual usage.”
The City has acted to mitigate the impact of unusually high water bills in two ways: smoothing analysis and extended time to pay.
Smoothing Analysis: One problem with the earliest “catchup bills” was that the overages were charged at higher rates, since the City charges progressively higher, tiered rates based on the amount of water usage reported in a quarter, and up to four years of discrepancies were billed in a single “catchup” quarter. In response to complaints about high water bills, the City now performs ”a daily analysis of the water consumption to ensure that any catchup bill accurately reflects the appropriate historical rate tiers for water through the estimated [time period],” according to the DPW. “Once the actual usage is billed, the City will perform an Average Daily Balance Analysis (smoothing). If warranted, customers will receive an abatement automatically on their account.”
Extended Time to Pay: Initially, the catchup bills were due within one month — the standard term for water bills. The City now allows “catchup bills” to be paid in two ways: in equal amounts over twelve months or in one payment at the end of the twelve months – in either case, at zero interest.
The City asks water/sewer customers who have questions or concerns to contact the City’s Customer Service at 617-796-1000 or waterbilling@newtonma.gov.
Bella Ishanyan is a Fig City News intern, Massachusetts High School Journalist of the Year, and off to UMass Amherst in September.
Bruce Henderson contributed reporting for this article.
