My monthly water bill has gone up. Does this have something to do with the new water meters?
John Duffy, Director of Carmel Utilities, explains that customer bills for water, sanitary sewer, stormwater and trash all increased 3 percent effective January 1 of 2022. Customers would see this increase on their February bill. This increase is a yearly inflationary increase that was approved by the City Council in 2016.
The Utility Department has received some calls about higher bills. In some cases, the meter that was changed out had previously slowed or stopped completely so the customer may very well see an increase in their bill. When you think about that, more accurate measurement means that you may now be paying for what you are actually consuming.
The City has also received calls, which are typical, from homeowners that used 10 to 20 percent more than they typically do. This may be due to the new meter, or simply that they used more water. While it is possible that there is a leak that started after they put the new meter in it is not likely.
Carmel Utilities has changed out more than 7,000 water meters and the process that is used is set up to make sure the new meter has been put in properly is sound.
So what do you do if you have a question about your bill. Please reach out to the Utilities Department so that the cause can be explored and a potential resolution, if necessary, can be made. Here is their web page with all the information needed to contact them.
Authored by Laura Campbell, Sue Finkam, Kevin Rider, Jeff Worrell, Bruce Kimball, Miles Nelson, Anthony Green and Adam Aasen.