A South Kona resident recently received a shocker of a water bill: $8,000 for two months.
Somewhere between the water meter and the drain, a million gallons of drinking water washed through the system, Keith Okamoto, manager/chief engineer of the county Department of Water Supply, said Tuesday.
Leaky pipes can cost big bucks, not only for residents who don’t catch them in time, but also for the Water Department, which generally picks up half the cost of overages, provided the resident fixes the leak. Property owners are allowed one such forgiveness every three years.
Last year, the Water Department absorbed $415,000 in lost revenue, in an annual budget of about $53 million.
That bothers some members of the Water Board, who have been looking at ways to cut losses so they can balance a budget without having to increase rates.
“Water is free, but it costs to deliver it,” said board member Susan Lee Loy, who heads an ad hoc committee looking for cost-saving measures. “We’re not charging a hell of a lot.”
Lee Loy has been working on ways to trim costs. Making owners responsible for a tenant’s water bill is one way; another is to go from a bimonthly to a monthly billing system so delinquent water users won’t get so far behind and leaks could be discovered sooner.
“We’re trying to reach a better understanding of where we’re losing money and how to close that gap,” Lee Loy said.
Both potential solutions, however, would cost the department more in new billing software and extra personnel, Lee Loy was told Tuesday. In addition, postage costs would double with monthly bills.
Board members also suggested having the resident pay for the entire power charge — the cost of electricity the Water Department pays to provide the water — in addition to half of the overage cost of the water itself. Generally, the power charge accounts for about half of the water bill. Another possibility is to forgive half the cost of leaks that occur unseen or underground, but require the resident to pay for leaks within the housing unit itself, because they are easier to detect. That’s how some water systems in Hawaii handle it, under the assumption the resident may more quickly fix the leak.
Ultimately, however, better communication of the importance of detecting and fixing leaks early may be the best tack, Water Department staff said.
Okamoto suggested more discussions before the board changes any rules, and board members agreed.
“We want to make our water available to as many people as we can,” Okamoto said. “I think we still have to have some compassion for those who have a legitimate claim.”
