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Water billing periods changed

STAFF REPORTS
Today's News-Herald
Published Friday, December 25, 2009 6:58 AM MST

Lake Havasu City residents will notice a change in their water and sewer bills in 2010, but city officials are assuring residents the changes will make billing easier.

This year, customer bills occasionally had two due dates within the same month because the calendar was based on four weekly cycles, which resulted in intervals of 28 days, according to officials. With only February being exactly 28 days, the additional days in the other months resulted in a shift in the final billing period.

“The city understands and sympathizes with the undue hardship this situation can place on our customers and have since begun a revision of these cycles,” a representative said. “It is important to note that in reworking each of these billing periods to ensure that only one bill is received per month, some statements will contain up to 33-34 days worth of water usage, which may result in a marginally higher water bill for those months.”

Additionally, customers will be billed for actual sewer usage instead of winter quarter averages, which may become marginally higher for sewer charges as well. Trash charges will continue at a flat rate per month for residential customers, according to a release.

Residents with questions or concerns are asked to contact customer service representative Charlene Yarno at 453-4146.

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Comments (4 comment(s))

dadilltnh wrote on Dec 27, 2009 7:48 AM:

" My home was put on sewer in January 2003. I paid the sewer base rate and a sewer flow charge for three years. Due to the winter averaging and all low water use fixtures I have paid only the sewer base rate in recent years. The base rate was well above the water I used and went down the sewer.

As Billed for the 84 Months between:
Jan 28 2003 thru
Dec 15 2009 Average monthly billing was $78.00 Tax, trash, sewer, 1 meter chg

With the new billing method the city give its citizens for Christmas (Front page 12/25/2009) . The average citizens bill (only citizens on sewer) will be increased by59%. It is time for citizens on sewer to sew the city until all property owners in the city are required to help pay for what they voted in.

With the new billing method (no winter Averaging):
Jan 28 2003 thru
Dec 15 2009 Average monthly billing WHB $123.43 Tax, trash, sewer, 1 meter chg

123.43/78 = 159%
a 59% increase in what (only citizens on sewer) will pay the city in the future.

The 2 meter System: (City and local contractors recommend this to save you money)
Required:
2 meter charges,
Backflow installed,
Backflow yearly checkup by Liecensed plumber
Jan 28 2003 thru
Dec 15 2009 Average monthly billing WHB $101.24 Tax, trash, sewer, 2 meter chg

101.24 / 78 = 130% a 30% increase compared to three month averaging method.

period ending:
July 15 2009, “1772” is my usage:
with winter averaging my payment was 85.02 = 100%
under new billing with one meter no winter averaging my payment WHB 164.23 = 193%
2 meter system WHB 110.97 = 131%

What is unquie about these increases is only those citizens on the sewer receive them.

Everyone must pay for the sewer. The Story was, sewer installation was required to save Lake Havasu from the rafts of the State And Feds . It was voted in by all. It was not voted in by (only those citizens on sewer).

Sewers work on gravity feed. Sewer Plants at the bottom of the slope more most a no brainer. For LHC Sewer flows down the slope to the right away along the state hiway. From that point the majority of the flows are pumped up and over several high spots by very expensive pumping systems all the way to the airport area. The new sewer plant is above the airport on the slope there for the flow is again pumped up a hill to gain access to the plant. Each pump has a cost of operation. Each pump has the potential of shuting down the flow which will cause the flow from above the slopes to exit the paths of lease resitance ( bathtubs, showers), into your entire home. What else are “We the People”
on sewer paying for. The return line back to the city for efulent water is also already installed. Hay! They have to get rid of all this efluent water somewhere. Eventually they expect to sell it back as irrigation water to we the people that paid for the system that generates it.

Only people on sewer are paying for:
Required items:

Lines on the slope from their homes down the hill.
A new sewer plant

unnecessary costs (until the time they would pay for themselves):

1 pumping sewer just to move it away from the city 20 miles from many homes which feed it.
2 Multiple expensive pumps required for this 20 mile journey ( Count the pumps on the right on your way to Home Depot and Walmart.)
3 The return affluent water line back this 20 miles into the city.

We have it now. Therefore we must pay for it. That cost must be bore by all cititens of this city.

The city NOW must take over the maintenance and upkeep of all remaining septic systems in the city limits. They must charge those “citizens on septic” for that terrible, filthy, water they are still dumping into our children's environment into the slopes above “we the only people” paying for the sewer and living below them.

Doug Dill
40 year resident "

Hidija wrote on Dec 25, 2009 11:47 AM:

" Wow, the poor City Workers. They have to calculate water bills on a Monthly Basis! Which is what every other City in the Country does! Perhaps this unusual 28 billing cycle had something to do with the way they wanted to calculate the sewer useage to get the best bang for it's buck?? I have two units that sit side by side. One sewer charge is $75 the other $45????? Always seemed strange to me! And I could never understand why they only wanted to use 4 months in the winter and not the whole year???? When all these figures are computerized and it wouldn't have been that hard to use the yearly average instead of the 4 months?? Hopefully everyone will now get to pay "their" fair share of the sewer charges! "

resident wrote on Dec 25, 2009 10:28 AM:

" "Additionally, customers will be billed for actual sewer usage instead of winter quarter averages, which may become marginally higher for sewer charges as well"

what does this mean??? "

nomore wrote on Dec 25, 2009 9:41 AM:

" Yeh it`s time to put the h0use up for sale and get away from this lying corrupt government. "

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