SAN DIEGO — Since 2015, the city of San Diego has failed to send over a million water bills to residents and, more importantly, neglected to notify anyone that their bill is withheld.
For several months, CBS 8 has worked to get answers about the water department's failures to notify customers when their bills were put on hold to send bills.
CBS 8 reported on residents citywide who had not received a bill for months, sometimes years. Many of those residents had been on auto pay and did not realize that their bills were unpaid. They soon learned otherwise when the city sent all of their bills at once, in some cases totaling as much as $16,000.
The City told CBS 8 that it investigates an account when meter readings are not in line with historic usage. The unusual water usage prompts the billing system to essentially stop. But customers felt blindsided, especially if there was a water leak they didn’t know about. One couple told CBS8, “If we had been getting the bill every two months, we would have noticed that we had a water leak because the bill went from $200 to $1,000.”
Now, after years of delays, San Diego is finally notifying residents when their water account is under investigation and their bill is getting held.
CBS 8 obtained one notification email from the city. It reads:
Dear Customer,
This letter is to notify you that the City of San Diego has recorded abnormal water usage on your account that is not in line with your previous usage. As such, we are not sending your water/sewer bill at this time until we can investigate further.
This abnormal usage could be the result of a variety of factors such as:
- There was a misread of your water meter
- Your meter registered zero usage indicating a possible dead water meter
- You could have a water leak on your property
For additional information regarding water meter reads and abnormal usage, click here: Questions About Your Water Meter Read? | Public Utilities | City of San Diego Official Website
Please note the investigation could take several months to complete. During this investigation, no late charges or penalties for non-payment will be imposed and your water will not be shut off for non-payment.
Once we complete the investigation, we will notify you of anything noteworthy and/or make appropriate corrections and release your water/sewer bill(s). Even though your bill(s) are delayed in being sent, you will still be responsible for paying your water/sewer bill(s) once you receive them. If, after you receive your water/sewer bill(s), you would like to set up an installment plan, the City will help you do that.
Should you have any questions, please contact us at 619-515-3500.
Sincerely,
Public Utilities Department
Earlier this year, as CBS 8 was looking into withheld water bills, the City said that it was working on a system to notify customers.
Now that notification system, one the San Diego City Auditor has asked for since 2018, is now in place.
Click here to see the types of notifications customers should look out for.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
WATCH RELATED: City auditor urged water department to notify customers about withheld bills back in 2018