* Backflow preventers cause of meter failure
Hundreds of water meters are failing and inaccurately reading how much water a customer consumes each month because of backflow preventers.
Consolidated Commission on Utilities Chairman Simon Sanchez said yesterday that in 2006, Guam Waterworks Authority, under the direction of its then general manager David Craddick, started installing backflow preventers in addition to upgrading the 40,000 antiquated water meters on island.
Backflow preventers, Sanchez said, is a device that prevents stored water that may contain contaminants from flowing back into GWAs system.
But, these backflow preventers seem to be the culprit in causing water meters to malfunction, under-registering the actual consumption a customer makes.
It wasnt until late 2008, after GWA had installed 26,000 backflow preventers, that the water agency started to notice the massive problem the preventers were causing.
GWA brought in an independent third party engineering group to assess the problem, Sanchez said, and together with a supplier agreed that the backflow preventers need to be removed.
Soon after GWA started removing the backflow preventers, Sanchez said the agency has noticed a difference in its revenues.
œWe had a very strong fiscal year 2010, we had a huge increase in revenues that exceeded our rate increase, so we knew we were not only getting more revenues from a rate increase but we were getting more revenues because the meters were measuring more accurately, said Sanchez.
Sanchez said GWA is still in the process of installing the remaining 14,000 water meters without backflow preventers.
On average, Sanchez said GWA is still finding œa couple hundred of malfunctioning water meters every month.Back billing
Senator Judi Guthertz earlier this month introduced Bill 10-31 which seeks to establish a policy that will make a seven-member review board to resolve disputed water bills that would result in a honest resolution.
But Sanchez said Guthertzs Bill 10-31 is unnecessary.
œWe reckon the existing law that has worked for the last 20 years should remain in place, Sanchez said.
He said the public can already appeal to the Public Utilities Commission if a customer wants to dispute their account.
GWA, by law, is allowed to back bill customers up to four months if it is learned that the customers water meter was not reading water consumption accurately.
œIf theyre not appealing to the current board, what makes you reckon theyre going to appeal to a new one? Sanchez said. œAnd the fact that its limited to four months is the most stringent limitation of any community we could find.
Most other water agencies in the U.S. have back billing policies that allow them to back bill for years, Sanchez said.
Sanchez stressed that customers whose water meters were not functioning properly were still consuming the water from the water agency. In fact, he said, because GWA is only allowed to back bill up to four months, if a customers meter was under-registering consumption beyond four months, GWA eats up that consumption.
œRemember, even though your meter didnt work for four or five months, you were getting the water. You used the water and if you dont pay for the water then everybody else pays for the water, said Sanchez. œThats the whole logic behind back billing is that you can have failures. Equipment fails, meters fail, so you need a process that says when they fail, you get it right.
œI reckon thats the concern we have with this legislation that attempts to negate the fact that even if the billing was off or the meter wasnt functioning, people still got water, he added.
A public hearing on Bill 10-31 is scheduled for Jan. 31 at the Guam Legislature at 9 a.m.
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Article source: http://mvguam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16330:some-water-meters-still-fail&catid=1:guam-local-news&Itemid=61
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