Flomaton residents get relief on bills

About 20 Flomaton residents who received elevated water and sewer bills this month will only be required to pay the minimum bill after the town discovered there was a glitch in the electronic meter reading system.

Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., said the town discovered the wrong meter readings and after talking with Utilities Superintendent Shaun Moye, felt the best thing to do was drop it and have those residents pay the minimum bill.

Moye said the town no longer physically reads the water meters but drives by them and a computer reads the meters.

For several months those 20 residents' bills showed the exact same reading from one month to the next. Moye said the problem was corrected in January, which resulted in the increased bills.

Councilman Jim Johnson said he had a copy of one customer's bills for the past five months noting the exact same reading. He also questioned why nobody noticed when they were putting the same numbers in each month for the billing.

Moye said the problem started with changing some meters and using a new software, but said the problem has been resolved and those residents will begin getting accurate readings.

The town of Flomaton has a list of the residents who had issues with the meter readings and they will only be required to pay the minimum this month.

Tasha Spears also addressed the council about her water bill at Flomaton Woods saying she works from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a printout shows that she's using water while she's at work and nobody's home.

Moye said the meter was checked and the meter readings are accurate. He also said a check showed she did not have a leak but about 45 gallons of water was being used while she was at work.

“A meter will not register water that doesn't come through,” Moye said. “I don't have a reason, but if it's a toilet running it can pass 180 gallons an hour.

Moye suggested using a water meter monitor that will show in real time when the water is being used.