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Testing contradicts lawsuit over water bills
The test showed the water meter is reading correctly.
GIRARD — A Liberty Township resident sued Girard over water bills he deemed too high, but city officials say a test conducted this week should clear the city of any blame.
Victor Rice, a 56-year-old disabled veteran, sued the city earlier this year saying water bills at his Santa Monica Drive home have been too much to swallow in the two years he has lived in the township.
Rice buys water from the city of Girard and pays sewage fees to Trumbull County.
Rice said the bills would average more than $200 every two-month billing cycle for a home containing only him and his small dog. He was seeking $3,000 in damages from the city.
Girard Municipal Court ordered that the water meter in the home be tested. The device was removed and tested at a facility in Youngstown earlier this week. According to Jerry Lambert, the city’s safety service director, the meter was found to be functioning just fine.
“There were three different categories in the test. In those categories the meter was determined to be 100 percent accurate at 12 gallons per minute, 100 percent accurate at three gallons and, in the third category, at a half-gallon, it was 97 percent accurate,” he said.
The 97 percent reading, Lambert said, means the meter was not registering all the water going through the system at low water volumes, which can lead to the customer’s not being charged for the water at that lower volume of use.
Lambert said there were no repairs or adjustments made to the meter during or after the testing process.
Rice, believing something is amiss, said he questions the results but will likely drop the suit against the city in light of the findings.
Rice and city representatives are due back in Girard Municipal Court on Dec. 9.
Lambert said Rice could be dealing with a water leak inside his home. In that instance, he suggests that Rice, and any other water customer with a similar issue, check for leaks by shutting off all water and looking at the meter to see if it is showing a water flow.
“We just don’t know what could have happened after the water went through the meter. We are not in the house,” he said. “There are a number of things that can happen on the inside of the house. Somehow the water is going through the meter and it is being used.”
Lambert said if a water customer suspects there is a leak in the home and contacts the city, the city will check the home for leaks.
jgoodwin@vindy.com