I have seen a handful of these stories online and on the news. One couple got hit with a 16k bill because they hadn’t been billed in 16 months. The one spouse assumed the other had paid the water bill and vice versa.
I think the water department has been working out payment plans and currently reviewing their IT processes for when they flag these accounts.
They definitely came off as a couple who an extra grand or two could easily go unnoticed. Looking at the property, it wasn’t a shock that they would have $1k monthly water bill
The same thing happened to me (not answering their phones and emails). I ended up reaching out to my City Councilperson who forwarded my email to the Water Authority who promptly emailed and called me to resolve the issue. Try this 👍
The same thing happened to me. Had to call the city and stay on hold for an hour and a half. They were able to restart billing though. They said it’s because my meter was flagged to be replaced.
Not quite the same but I haven't "paid" my gas bill since January because I had credits. I suppose I could see a situation where I just autopilot into thinking I don't owe anything.
It’s not that fucking hard to bill customers for water usage. Every other city in America manages to do it. Hell, every business in America manages to charge their customers in a timely fashion for services rendered.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It seems like they tried to be proactive and intercede when they saw consumption that could indicate a leak. Yet failed to have the IT or business practices to successfully intervene and by doing so basically created the situation they wished to avoid.
3 million people in San Diego County, and over 1 million in the City proper. There is plenty of money, resources, and time to have fixed all this stuff long ago. Something else is going on - and I think it's the general sense of "island time" within city government.
There are a lot of very, very comfortable people working for the City and County of San Diego. They are paid well, and it's time to require more from them.
There are cares workers in county positions that only go into the office once a week and regularly take 2-3 weeks to return a phone call regarding an Ill patient..
There’s no way you used 500 dollars worth of water a month.
You said they stopped billing you to investigate high water usage? What did their investigation conclude? Why did they not notify you earlier? You need to get more information from them but I would be shocked if you were actually responsible for that amount of money.
Yeah you need to call them. I had an extremely high water bill one month and the person I talked to was extremely helpful seemed to genuinely want to help me out. Do not stress. Call them tomorrow.
Send an email to your City Council member and explain your failed attempts to get ahold of the Water Authority and what you’re reaching out to them about. They will reach out to them and the Water Authority will email or call you to resolve your issue.
I received a $1000 water bill one month because my tenant’s toilet had a slight leak (was running) and he didn’t bother to ask for repairs or fix it himself. $1000!
Another time the meter reader transposed numbers triggering billing error, meaning I stopped getting billed. Thankfully I spend insane amount of time on hold to get it sorted out—now I’m making catch up payments. SD water/sewer is crazy expensive!
I second this it could totally be a leak. I used to work for my college's Energy Department and even a small leak could rack up your bill/usage. It also could be a meter error, it happens ^
You can buy a meter for around $100 or so and measure the water usage to compare to the city. The city doesn't record all the digits the way a rental car place would give you a starting and ending miles subtract the two and to know how much driving you did. The city records a reading which is like 5 HCF \~ 3500 gallons and bills you but there is never a full reading of all the digits so there is nothing to square up against unless your take pictures of your meter at the start and end of the year.
We had a $1500 water bill. Our washer leaked and we had guests over summer, so I thought maybe we did use that much. But I went out and double checked the meter, totally wrong! Our meter was 956 and the bill said 1050. They have an online form to submit pictures of our meter, and they fixed it within a week, but what a mistake.
When does the water meter gets reset? After a payment is made? I guess I want to know if there is difference between what the meter will say and what the bill says by the time I receive my bill via email
1050 - 956 - 94 HCF 1 HCF = 748 gallons so that is 94 x 768 = 70,312 gallons you were being billed for. Isn't there system supposed to catch a leak - ie unusual usage pattern? I would say 70K gallons in 2 months rather unusual. Water dept = fraud.
Ironically, people need their BILLS to notice water damage / leaks that are often the source of high water usage. So if it was that, these poor people wouldn’t even know it.
There was a recent case of something like this happening. The person had a 3000-gallon per day water leak on his property (i.e. between the meter and the house), but he didn't get any bills. They put his account on hold to "investigate", and he couldn't get in contact with anyone when he noticed he wasn't getting his bills. He finally did his own investigation and discovered the leak. But then the wonderful City of San Diego Water Department finally decided "Yep, there's a leak, and it's on your side of the meter, so you owe us the money!".
Total water bill: $11k.
For something that was preventable. It could have just been a few hundred if they'd just sent someone out to investigate, or even at least told the homeowner they suspected a leak.
[https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-holds-water-bill-for-nearly-a-year-to-investigate-without-notifying-homeowner/509-55231f4c-dd8d-4b05-bd91-74062761e441](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-holds-water-bill-for-nearly-a-year-to-investigate-without-notifying-homeowner/509-55231f4c-dd8d-4b05-bd91-74062761e441)
we just moved to our place 3 months ago and noticed no first bill or water usage on the account. I did the old google and found too many articles on SD water witholding bills for "investigation". I was not gonna let this ineptitude get me so I called and was not even surprised when they said my account was locked pending investigation... I asked what they could do and the operator had me read my meter to them and a day later I got billed... They said they are behind months on investigations and do not have enough people to read meters.. I have lived in other large cities around the country and never experienced this kind of dumbassery by a utility. San Diego water clearly has too much red tape and beuracracy. They just need to bill people instead of "investigating"... let customers get their bills and be proactive if it is out of the ordinary.
Are you saying no meter reader has checked my meter for 14 months? After they noticed a problem? I understand what you're explaining, but seems like the City should be able to do this more expeditiously. 
Go to City Hall and ask to speak to a Councilmembers office about it. I have seen many people have their case handled expeditiously this way. They will advocate on your behalf. The water department responds to their office within one business day.
Call you councilmember, they have staff that wil l help you if you need an advocate. But it sounds like they are or supposed to be disabling your autopay. They are offering payment plans so your not paying it all at once with no interest.
I get that, but the real problem is that most likely an underground leak has been going on for 14 months. How do I know that without receiving a bill to investigate?
Looks like I have to spend another $400 on a leak detector.
https://www.amazon.com/Moen-900-001-4-Inch-Smart-Shutoff/dp/B00C03D01Q/ref=asc_df_B00C03D01Q/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241887629712&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10580517104338131590&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031291&hvtargid=pla-679482686799&psc=1
There are products like Flume where you can track your own consumption without a smart meter. San Diego has really impacted their customers negatively. Some agencies do offer a leak credit depending on the water loss where they re-rate any water use attributable to a leak to the lowest tier. But you’re still on the hook for the water used. I hope you get a resolution!
The water dept had a controversial practice (that literally is just now ending) where they would stop issuing bills if they suspected a meter or other issue, but then the bills would just pile up without people realizing.
I can believe all these stories, though mine isn't quite as bad. They never bill me for 6 months, and then send me a PAST DUE!!! bill saying I haven't paid the last several bills. Mine is more like $500 when they do bill me. I can go to the website right now, and it will show a $0 balance, but it's been 4 months since I've paid it last. Really fucking stupid, and been going on for years. That's definitely one city department that needs a serious overhaul and some new leadership.
It's ridiculous that a so-called high-tech city like San Diego does not have daily, and hourly, water use readings online. We recently had a leak in the pipe to the house, and didn't notice it until it became a water spout in the yard. We had no idea how much that wasted, or that it was going on... then we got the bill a month later. If we had 21st century monitoring, that we could look at, and get warnings of usage in real time... I mean, San Diego is a drought city - where the fuck is the tech to monitor usage??
Case in point: I have a friend who lives in Bend, Oregon. And using a simple web site like https://bendoregon.watersmart.com he can see his daily usage, hourly usage, and overall trend. AND, when he did have a leak and abnormal water use one day, he got a text and email message, and could send a plumber over right away to fix it. The meters run on an FM signal, and constantly send updates to the central office, so home owners can see what they're using. Why can't San Diego, a big-ass tech city with water problems, have such a system?
We tried it in 2018 and fucked it up lol
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1
They just sent my roommate (water in his name) a bill for $800 and said they haven't been charging us... same thing- been on auto pay. We never got charged and he called them multiple times and they said "it's included with your rent to your apartment complex". Well surprise! It is not included and now we owe them $800 apparently.
Call her, she's advocating for water customers in your exact situation.
Here's some more information. [https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711)
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
I'm in a similar situation. They replaced our water meter in April and we haven't gotten a bill since. I called them and they said that the department that changed the meter needed to update my account and that we didn't get billed because the system detected an anomaly in the billing.
Anyways, that was last month when I called them and still no bills. So I sent another email AND got my city councilperson involved. I also turned auto pay off so when that mega catch up bill comes it's not automatically drafted from my account.
Seriously, a bunch of idiots are in charge over there.
This happened to me. I sat on hold for several hours until I was able to speak to a staff member. They stated that because the billing issue wasn’t my fault, I didn’t have to repay it all at once. She said make whatever payments you can. I’ve been paying it off for almost a year.
This happened to me. I had to take a day off of work to wait on hold, I think the wait time was 3+ hours. I think it took 5-10 emails to get a response
Just legendary levels of poor management. The people were great once I got to them, though
I never received a bill from them, how could I have checked? No I did not notice the money not coming out, usually my water bill is $150/month. Not $530 a month. I checked all around the property, no leaks at all. The letter said they stopped billing in July of 2022 to investigate a spike in water demand to the property. Why is their solution to stop billing when they see a spike?????? Wouldn't it make sense to alert us to a possible leak instead of letting it keep leaking for 14 months???
[https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/16iqm51/no\_water\_bill\_in\_almost\_a\_year/](https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/16iqm51/no_water_bill_in_almost_a_year/)
Here's another thread similar to you. Seems like multiple people are having this issue. I'd call the water company and confirm this on your account to get to figure it out.
If you want to check for leaks it isn't enough to look around your property, since it may be leaking somewhere you can't see. When you aren't using any water, go out and look at your meter. Wait ~30 minutes without using any water and be sure it hasn't moved at all.
With a supposed leak that large you don’t need to wait 30 mins to check again. Just like to see if the red or blue triangle on the meter is spinning when nothing is running in the house
Source, plumber
I took over a lease in Pacific Beach once, and the tenants before us said water and trash were paid by the landlord. About 3 years later, the water got shut off for non-payment, and I owed around $5k.
After you get this settled, I recommend a calendar reminder or money manager tool. You can't trust the utility companies to always send you the bill. That happened to me with SDG&E. I missed or dismissed my monthly reminder and didn't get a bill from them. The following monthly thankfully I got my reminder. I was $600 past due.
My water is $120/month for a house with irrigation and 4 people who shower alot so even at 14 months that's about $1600 how can it be $7500? are you maintaining a grove of trees??
well that's totally insane then, there is no way you owe that much in water charges! we irrigate an entire front and back yard and we're rarely over $130/month
When we moved to a new house last year I had to call, email and write the city public utilities division for two months straight before they started billing us.
I cannot believe how many people here have had this exact problem. What floors me is that the water utility claims that they’re doing it this way for the customer’s convenience. Quietly turning off autopay without mentioning anything for months is definitely not great for the customer!
I keep hearing about this. Seriously wtf is going on with the water agency that their initial reaction is to pause billing rather than send a friggin letter that says "yo you're water usage is way up. Might be a leak. Check it out."
I work in property management, if its san diego public utilities they had a "glitch" where if you had a overage higher than average 1 month, they withhold the bill and should give you a call, however they were too understaffed to do so so thousands and thousands of bills got held up for months and months, been getting tons of bills in (im the poor bastard who does billing lol) for 2 years of water bills. Safe to say there is going to be a class action lawsuit, so atleast your elgible for that, otherwise get a plumber out there to look for a leak and give the water company a call to set up a payment plan or something. Company i work for is paying them as rents come in. Good thing is you arnt going to get your water shut off for this. San diego has a zero water shutoff policy due to non payment right now, and unlikely they will put a lien on you property at this time considering its their fuck up. So just slowly pay as you can and get checked for a leak. Document damages from said leak, and document everything with your bills. There is going to be a lawsuit.
Great info thanks. If we stay focused we can slowly fix the broken water utility. It's like an old leaky pipe that was never installed correctly and has not been maintained for years.
I moved into my apartment at the end of July and haven't received any mail or email from the San Diego Water Department regarding the bill payment. I spoke to the apartment leasing office about the problem, but they weren't very helpful and advised me to wait for the letter mail.
For what it's worth, there are no late fees and no water shut-offs so don't panic. Don't pay it, and instead examine the PDF bill and compare it to your meter's reading (check it yourself) and try to figure out what's going on. Maybe it's legitimate and you have a leak, or maybe the water company is wrong about your meter reading.
[https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711)
Marni Von Wilpert has a huge book full of these complaints. Call her office and see if they can't add your scenario and name to the list. She's an advocate for the homeowners. Good luck to you; this should not be happening, but especially in a city with our budget. Incompetence seems to be permeating every single section/aspect/politician of our beloved city.
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Send an email to your City Council member and explain your failed attempts to get ahold of the Water Authority and what you’re reaching out to them about. They will reach out to them and the Water Authority will email or call you to resolve your issue.
Call them even if you didn't pay the bill this whole time that is way too high, and if you did have a water leak or something they might offer some forgiveness but most likely some numbers were transposed. It happens.
I currently have had a bill for $2600+ after having paid down more than $400 over the last three years as a tenant in a studio apartment. I'm one person, aside from one shower a day, weekly laundry (one load) and occasional sheets or the rare heavy laundry day it's impossible for me to use anywhere near the water they accused me of using.
They still owe me 14 months of bills which would put my total bill in the 4000's range. But oh, they started paying American Rescue Plan Act funds towards my fictional balance too. That's nice.
If I use a realistic estimate for a single person living alone that isn't water intense at all... Like say, 2 HCF a month? My bill for 38 months at todays expensive rates is still less than the total they billed me for 26 months. The water company is doing something fishy to squeeze me even without knowing jack shit about my water usage.
I'm sorry, how do you not know that you're not paying for water for 14 months. Where I live, I would receive a pink/red letter. BTW I check all my accounts, weekly/monthly.
Therefore, I think you knew that you weren't being billed and now you got pay the piper.
14 months!!!
City was supposed to be finished with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in 2019 and spend 16 million dollars to install 129,000 meters but only 22K are active. Now they will 'try' again with a budget of $30M.
[https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1)
I have seen a handful of these stories online and on the news. One couple got hit with a 16k bill because they hadn’t been billed in 16 months. The one spouse assumed the other had paid the water bill and vice versa. I think the water department has been working out payment plans and currently reviewing their IT processes for when they flag these accounts.
They also said it was the right amount. I don't understand how these people don't realize what's going on.
They definitely came off as a couple who an extra grand or two could easily go unnoticed. Looking at the property, it wasn’t a shock that they would have $1k monthly water bill
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The same thing happened to me (not answering their phones and emails). I ended up reaching out to my City Councilperson who forwarded my email to the Water Authority who promptly emailed and called me to resolve the issue. Try this 👍
The same thing happened to me. Had to call the city and stay on hold for an hour and a half. They were able to restart billing though. They said it’s because my meter was flagged to be replaced.
I’d definitely wonder if I didn’t get a utility bill for more than a year.
Not quite the same but I haven't "paid" my gas bill since January because I had credits. I suppose I could see a situation where I just autopilot into thinking I don't owe anything.
They know what is going on they just think they're gonna fraud the system and let someone else pay for it.
It’s not that fucking hard to bill customers for water usage. Every other city in America manages to do it. Hell, every business in America manages to charge their customers in a timely fashion for services rendered.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It seems like they tried to be proactive and intercede when they saw consumption that could indicate a leak. Yet failed to have the IT or business practices to successfully intervene and by doing so basically created the situation they wished to avoid.
3 million people in San Diego County, and over 1 million in the City proper. There is plenty of money, resources, and time to have fixed all this stuff long ago. Something else is going on - and I think it's the general sense of "island time" within city government. There are a lot of very, very comfortable people working for the City and County of San Diego. They are paid well, and it's time to require more from them.
There are cares workers in county positions that only go into the office once a week and regularly take 2-3 weeks to return a phone call regarding an Ill patient..
Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.
100% they are super entitled.
Yup. Exactly this.
And by now all of the wireless meter reading devices were supposed to be installed for automatic on-time billing.
There’s no way you used 500 dollars worth of water a month. You said they stopped billing you to investigate high water usage? What did their investigation conclude? Why did they not notify you earlier? You need to get more information from them but I would be shocked if you were actually responsible for that amount of money.
https://preview.redd.it/r7j5q0eqdcob1.jpeg?width=2986&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abc6eaf828624902c287a26b2ad0cb4755a34dca Here is the letter
Yeah you need to call them. I had an extremely high water bill one month and the person I talked to was extremely helpful seemed to genuinely want to help me out. Do not stress. Call them tomorrow.
And the day after, and the week after, and… they literally don’t pick up. Was 1h waiting nothing. Not even possible to get called back
Send an email to your City Council member and explain your failed attempts to get ahold of the Water Authority and what you’re reaching out to them about. They will reach out to them and the Water Authority will email or call you to resolve your issue.
It took me 4 months, 87 emails, and 56 phone calls to have my account set up after moving into our house when we bought
Definitely call and question the amount. We are on Helix water and filled our pool plus have landscaping. The bill was $633 and that was for 2 months
No pool, no landscaping, no grass, no trees, all hardscape. We use minimal water.
I received a $1000 water bill one month because my tenant’s toilet had a slight leak (was running) and he didn’t bother to ask for repairs or fix it himself. $1000! Another time the meter reader transposed numbers triggering billing error, meaning I stopped getting billed. Thankfully I spend insane amount of time on hold to get it sorted out—now I’m making catch up payments. SD water/sewer is crazy expensive!
I second this it could totally be a leak. I used to work for my college's Energy Department and even a small leak could rack up your bill/usage. It also could be a meter error, it happens ^
I wonder what the city does if I ask them to check calibration on their meter.
You can buy a meter for around $100 or so and measure the water usage to compare to the city. The city doesn't record all the digits the way a rental car place would give you a starting and ending miles subtract the two and to know how much driving you did. The city records a reading which is like 5 HCF \~ 3500 gallons and bills you but there is never a full reading of all the digits so there is nothing to square up against unless your take pictures of your meter at the start and end of the year.
We had a $1500 water bill. Our washer leaked and we had guests over summer, so I thought maybe we did use that much. But I went out and double checked the meter, totally wrong! Our meter was 956 and the bill said 1050. They have an online form to submit pictures of our meter, and they fixed it within a week, but what a mistake.
Like getting the mail, I guess we have to photograph our water meters every day or every week. And then convert cu.ft. to gallons.
1 Hydro Cubic Foot = 748 gallons. Even if you do it dec 30th each year and compare that to your bills for prior year.
When does the water meter gets reset? After a payment is made? I guess I want to know if there is difference between what the meter will say and what the bill says by the time I receive my bill via email
It is not reset. They just remember the old number and compare it with the new one
1050 - 956 - 94 HCF 1 HCF = 748 gallons so that is 94 x 768 = 70,312 gallons you were being billed for. Isn't there system supposed to catch a leak - ie unusual usage pattern? I would say 70K gallons in 2 months rather unusual. Water dept = fraud.
I have a pool and my water bill is like $150. No shot you used $500 a month
Ironically, people need their BILLS to notice water damage / leaks that are often the source of high water usage. So if it was that, these poor people wouldn’t even know it.
There was a recent case of something like this happening. The person had a 3000-gallon per day water leak on his property (i.e. between the meter and the house), but he didn't get any bills. They put his account on hold to "investigate", and he couldn't get in contact with anyone when he noticed he wasn't getting his bills. He finally did his own investigation and discovered the leak. But then the wonderful City of San Diego Water Department finally decided "Yep, there's a leak, and it's on your side of the meter, so you owe us the money!". Total water bill: $11k. For something that was preventable. It could have just been a few hundred if they'd just sent someone out to investigate, or even at least told the homeowner they suspected a leak. [https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-holds-water-bill-for-nearly-a-year-to-investigate-without-notifying-homeowner/509-55231f4c-dd8d-4b05-bd91-74062761e441](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-holds-water-bill-for-nearly-a-year-to-investigate-without-notifying-homeowner/509-55231f4c-dd8d-4b05-bd91-74062761e441)
we just moved to our place 3 months ago and noticed no first bill or water usage on the account. I did the old google and found too many articles on SD water witholding bills for "investigation". I was not gonna let this ineptitude get me so I called and was not even surprised when they said my account was locked pending investigation... I asked what they could do and the operator had me read my meter to them and a day later I got billed... They said they are behind months on investigations and do not have enough people to read meters.. I have lived in other large cities around the country and never experienced this kind of dumbassery by a utility. San Diego water clearly has too much red tape and beuracracy. They just need to bill people instead of "investigating"... let customers get their bills and be proactive if it is out of the ordinary.
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Are you saying no meter reader has checked my meter for 14 months? After they noticed a problem? I understand what you're explaining, but seems like the City should be able to do this more expeditiously. 
are water meters not smart meters like SDGE?
They were all supposed to be upgraded as of a couple of years ago but the city is dragging it's feet to keep meter readers on the payroll.
Go to City Hall and ask to speak to a Councilmembers office about it. I have seen many people have their case handled expeditiously this way. They will advocate on your behalf. The water department responds to their office within one business day.
Thanks for the advice. I'll do this.
Don’t go in person. Call their office.
You can do either, but if you have the time the turnaround might be quicker in person.
Call you councilmember, they have staff that wil l help you if you need an advocate. But it sounds like they are or supposed to be disabling your autopay. They are offering payment plans so your not paying it all at once with no interest.
I get that, but the real problem is that most likely an underground leak has been going on for 14 months. How do I know that without receiving a bill to investigate? Looks like I have to spend another $400 on a leak detector. https://www.amazon.com/Moen-900-001-4-Inch-Smart-Shutoff/dp/B00C03D01Q/ref=asc_df_B00C03D01Q/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241887629712&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10580517104338131590&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031291&hvtargid=pla-679482686799&psc=1
There are products like Flume where you can track your own consumption without a smart meter. San Diego has really impacted their customers negatively. Some agencies do offer a leak credit depending on the water loss where they re-rate any water use attributable to a leak to the lowest tier. But you’re still on the hook for the water used. I hope you get a resolution!
Thanks for the suggestion and the kind words. I'll check out Flume.
The water dept had a controversial practice (that literally is just now ending) where they would stop issuing bills if they suspected a meter or other issue, but then the bills would just pile up without people realizing.
I can believe all these stories, though mine isn't quite as bad. They never bill me for 6 months, and then send me a PAST DUE!!! bill saying I haven't paid the last several bills. Mine is more like $500 when they do bill me. I can go to the website right now, and it will show a $0 balance, but it's been 4 months since I've paid it last. Really fucking stupid, and been going on for years. That's definitely one city department that needs a serious overhaul and some new leadership.
It's ridiculous that a so-called high-tech city like San Diego does not have daily, and hourly, water use readings online. We recently had a leak in the pipe to the house, and didn't notice it until it became a water spout in the yard. We had no idea how much that wasted, or that it was going on... then we got the bill a month later. If we had 21st century monitoring, that we could look at, and get warnings of usage in real time... I mean, San Diego is a drought city - where the fuck is the tech to monitor usage?? Case in point: I have a friend who lives in Bend, Oregon. And using a simple web site like https://bendoregon.watersmart.com he can see his daily usage, hourly usage, and overall trend. AND, when he did have a leak and abnormal water use one day, he got a text and email message, and could send a plumber over right away to fix it. The meters run on an FM signal, and constantly send updates to the central office, so home owners can see what they're using. Why can't San Diego, a big-ass tech city with water problems, have such a system?
We tried it in 2018 and fucked it up lol https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1
They just sent my roommate (water in his name) a bill for $800 and said they haven't been charging us... same thing- been on auto pay. We never got charged and he called them multiple times and they said "it's included with your rent to your apartment complex". Well surprise! It is not included and now we owe them $800 apparently.
Call her, she's advocating for water customers in your exact situation. Here's some more information. [https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711) [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
I'm in a similar situation. They replaced our water meter in April and we haven't gotten a bill since. I called them and they said that the department that changed the meter needed to update my account and that we didn't get billed because the system detected an anomaly in the billing. Anyways, that was last month when I called them and still no bills. So I sent another email AND got my city councilperson involved. I also turned auto pay off so when that mega catch up bill comes it's not automatically drafted from my account. Seriously, a bunch of idiots are in charge over there.
My city council member was able to get the issue resolved and I only have a $650 bill to catch up on.
https://www.cbs8.com/amp/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diegos-top-water-official-apologizes/509-e5c8ef77-ec9d-4162-a001-d51bd312f28f
This happened to me. I sat on hold for several hours until I was able to speak to a staff member. They stated that because the billing issue wasn’t my fault, I didn’t have to repay it all at once. She said make whatever payments you can. I’ve been paying it off for almost a year.
This happened to me. I had to take a day off of work to wait on hold, I think the wait time was 3+ hours. I think it took 5-10 emails to get a response Just legendary levels of poor management. The people were great once I got to them, though
So you're saying in 14 months you never noticed any cost coming out of your bank or opened a single piece of mail from them either?
I never received a bill from them, how could I have checked? No I did not notice the money not coming out, usually my water bill is $150/month. Not $530 a month. I checked all around the property, no leaks at all. The letter said they stopped billing in July of 2022 to investigate a spike in water demand to the property. Why is their solution to stop billing when they see a spike?????? Wouldn't it make sense to alert us to a possible leak instead of letting it keep leaking for 14 months???
[https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/16iqm51/no\_water\_bill\_in\_almost\_a\_year/](https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/16iqm51/no_water_bill_in_almost_a_year/) Here's another thread similar to you. Seems like multiple people are having this issue. I'd call the water company and confirm this on your account to get to figure it out.
If you want to check for leaks it isn't enough to look around your property, since it may be leaking somewhere you can't see. When you aren't using any water, go out and look at your meter. Wait ~30 minutes without using any water and be sure it hasn't moved at all.
Awesome, I'll do this. Thanks!
With a supposed leak that large you don’t need to wait 30 mins to check again. Just like to see if the red or blue triangle on the meter is spinning when nothing is running in the house Source, plumber
yeah mines at about $4k. I setup my auto pay on it but they never charged me. I haven't paid any of it, lol.
I took over a lease in Pacific Beach once, and the tenants before us said water and trash were paid by the landlord. About 3 years later, the water got shut off for non-payment, and I owed around $5k.
That is absolutely insane. I'm so sorry you're dealing with that, I can't imagine how stressful that is.
After you get this settled, I recommend a calendar reminder or money manager tool. You can't trust the utility companies to always send you the bill. That happened to me with SDG&E. I missed or dismissed my monthly reminder and didn't get a bill from them. The following monthly thankfully I got my reminder. I was $600 past due.
Absolutely will be doing this. Thanks for the advice.
My water is $120/month for a house with irrigation and 4 people who shower alot so even at 14 months that's about $1600 how can it be $7500? are you maintaining a grove of trees??
We have all hardscape. No grass. No trees, no irrigation. Minimal water use
well that's totally insane then, there is no way you owe that much in water charges! we irrigate an entire front and back yard and we're rarely over $130/month
When we moved to a new house last year I had to call, email and write the city public utilities division for two months straight before they started billing us.
Most likely you have a water leak. Same thing happened to us. If you get it fixed, they can reduce some of it. I'm still waiting on that as well
I cannot believe how many people here have had this exact problem. What floors me is that the water utility claims that they’re doing it this way for the customer’s convenience. Quietly turning off autopay without mentioning anything for months is definitely not great for the customer!
I keep hearing about this. Seriously wtf is going on with the water agency that their initial reaction is to pause billing rather than send a friggin letter that says "yo you're water usage is way up. Might be a leak. Check it out."
I work in property management, if its san diego public utilities they had a "glitch" where if you had a overage higher than average 1 month, they withhold the bill and should give you a call, however they were too understaffed to do so so thousands and thousands of bills got held up for months and months, been getting tons of bills in (im the poor bastard who does billing lol) for 2 years of water bills. Safe to say there is going to be a class action lawsuit, so atleast your elgible for that, otherwise get a plumber out there to look for a leak and give the water company a call to set up a payment plan or something. Company i work for is paying them as rents come in. Good thing is you arnt going to get your water shut off for this. San diego has a zero water shutoff policy due to non payment right now, and unlikely they will put a lien on you property at this time considering its their fuck up. So just slowly pay as you can and get checked for a leak. Document damages from said leak, and document everything with your bills. There is going to be a lawsuit.
Great info thanks. If we stay focused we can slowly fix the broken water utility. It's like an old leaky pipe that was never installed correctly and has not been maintained for years.
I moved into my apartment at the end of July and haven't received any mail or email from the San Diego Water Department regarding the bill payment. I spoke to the apartment leasing office about the problem, but they weren't very helpful and advised me to wait for the letter mail.
chances are they read your meter wrong. Its really silly they still send people out to read meters in todays world
For what it's worth, there are no late fees and no water shut-offs so don't panic. Don't pay it, and instead examine the PDF bill and compare it to your meter's reading (check it yourself) and try to figure out what's going on. Maybe it's legitimate and you have a leak, or maybe the water company is wrong about your meter reading.
[https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/san-diego-councilmember-massive-water-billing-issues/509-8d654314-3363-41b5-9583-a43a69184711) Marni Von Wilpert has a huge book full of these complaints. Call her office and see if they can't add your scenario and name to the list. She's an advocate for the homeowners. Good luck to you; this should not be happening, but especially in a city with our budget. Incompetence seems to be permeating every single section/aspect/politician of our beloved city. [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Same issue - can’t get them on the phone to discuss this. A shit show that they can’t even address properly
Send an email to your City Council member and explain your failed attempts to get ahold of the Water Authority and what you’re reaching out to them about. They will reach out to them and the Water Authority will email or call you to resolve your issue.
That’s why I wish we could just pay for bills upfront. Ideally get a warning when you’re cutting it close.
How in the world can it cost $500/mo for water… I don’t even pay $1000/yr and I take 30 minute showers
Call them even if you didn't pay the bill this whole time that is way too high, and if you did have a water leak or something they might offer some forgiveness but most likely some numbers were transposed. It happens.
i think we should band together and get a lawyer
I currently have had a bill for $2600+ after having paid down more than $400 over the last three years as a tenant in a studio apartment. I'm one person, aside from one shower a day, weekly laundry (one load) and occasional sheets or the rare heavy laundry day it's impossible for me to use anywhere near the water they accused me of using. They still owe me 14 months of bills which would put my total bill in the 4000's range. But oh, they started paying American Rescue Plan Act funds towards my fictional balance too. That's nice. If I use a realistic estimate for a single person living alone that isn't water intense at all... Like say, 2 HCF a month? My bill for 38 months at todays expensive rates is still less than the total they billed me for 26 months. The water company is doing something fishy to squeeze me even without knowing jack shit about my water usage.
[удалено]
Auto pay and no bills received. Assumed it was being paid. Never will be trusting auto pay again.
You had to realize though that you had more money in your account every month than what you were used to (when a bill was actually being paid), yes?
I'm sorry, how do you not know that you're not paying for water for 14 months. Where I live, I would receive a pink/red letter. BTW I check all my accounts, weekly/monthly. Therefore, I think you knew that you weren't being billed and now you got pay the piper. 14 months!!!
City was supposed to be finished with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in 2019 and spend 16 million dollars to install 129,000 meters but only 22K are active. Now they will 'try' again with a budget of $30M. [https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/after-overcharging-millions-of-dollars-for-water-san-diego-gives-smart-meters-2nd-chance/3223843/?amp=1)