Question: Does the Board of Water Supply actually, physically, read its water meters in calculating its water bills? Or does it take readings electronically using devices without looking at or touching the water meters? What is the relationship between the “water charge” and the “sewer charge” in factoring the total water charge for a given billing cycle? I am asking these questions because I cannot understand the “mechanism” of my monthly water-usage bills. For consecutive months, I receive water bills that are exactly the same amount dollar-wise, to the last penny, regardless of the number of users and the number of days in a billing cycle. … There are three persons in my household. Occasionally, one person leaves our household, spending weeks visiting family on the mainland, so assuming that there is less water usage during her absence, the water bill should be less than when there are three users. But the bills are exactly the same amount, month after month after month.
Answer: Tracy Burgo, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, addresses your multiple questions:
>> Meter reading: The Board of Water Supply bills customers for water usage based on meter readings collected from the property meter. Initially a meter reader uses a “drive-by process” to collect meter readings on a computer via radio signals while driving by. Sometimes the radio signals can’t be picked up because of rainy weather or other environmental conditions, or because the meters are physically obstructed by objects or need repair or maintenance. In that case, a meter reader will visit the meter to manually get the reading. The BWS uses these readings to bill a customer for water usage. If the BWS is unable to get a meter reading for some reason, it will estimate consumption based on the customer’s recent average water usage. … Common issues resulting in estimated bills include a meter box that is inaccessible or flooded, an abnormally high or low reading for the account, meter-reading timetables, or malfunctioning equipment. In general, the BWS resolves such issues within a couple of months; it tries to correct problems as quickly as possible so that bills reflect current, not estimated, use. …
>> Water charge and sewer charge: For most BWS customers, the water bill also includes city sewer fees, since the BWS provides billing services for the city’s Department of Environmental Services. That department (ENV), and not the BWS, calculates sewer fees based on water usage for customers connected to the city’s sewer system. Burgo recommends that you call ENV at 768-3330 for more details about how it calculates that charge. (You can also find information online, at 808ne.ws/sewercharge, which explains that sewer service charges rose 8 percent last year and consist of a fixed base charge and a variable volume charge.)
>> Steady bill despite smaller household: The BWS charges customers per 1,000 gallons (kgal) of water used. Unless the frequent traveler in your household uses 1,000 gallons of water or more each month, usage would remain steady, as the BWS rounds down to the lesser thousands of gallons used. It does not charge for a quantity of water that is not yet used. Eventually, as the household continues to use water, the charges could even out, as the customer moves into the next kgal in a subsequent billing period. Burgo asks that you call customer service at 768-5030 so that BWS may determine exactly what’s going on with your bill.
Mahalo
Many thanks to a gentleman named Kevin who helped jump my car battery at Ala Moana Center on Sept. 11. … Happy to know that the aloha spirit still lives! — Mahalo, Colleen
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
