West Hempstead resident decries sizable bill after hidden water leak

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Last December, West Hempstead resident Kathy Myers was shocked when officials from the West Hempstead Water District determined that she had a subterranean leak under her home. The real surprise, however, was when her water bill ballooned to $970.

“I’ve lived here for 27 years,” Myers said, “and my water usage was never this high.”

Because of the leak, the water district agreed to reduce her bill $1.50 per 1,000 gallons to $1 per 1,000 gallons. But on July 28, Myers received a letter from the water district stating that it was forced to place a lien on her property because she came up short on her payments.

“I think if there’s a leak and water seeps into the ground, it’s not real usage,” Myers said. “I could understand if the water was running inside my house, but that’s not the case.”

The leak spanned two billing cycles, or six months, according to water district Superintendent Jason Belle. Belle said that while he understood Myers’s concerns, once water passes through a resident’s meter, it is considered to be usage of the property.

“Your specific situation is much more rare, and it is unfortunate,” Belle told Myers during the water district’s July 28 board meeting. “As far as [the] lien process, that’s part of the town law, which happens on an annual basis. The liens are our only mechanism to receive unpaid water rents. As a district, we don’t shut water off under any circumstance, and we don’t charge late fees. If you don’t pay that bill, then your neighbors would essentially pay more to subsidize that usage.”

The district, which serves more than 32,000 people, encompasses approximately two square miles, including a majority of West Hempstead, all of Garden City South and a large section of Franklin Square. Belle estimated that subterranean leaks occur 10 to 20 times per year, and that water typically rises to the surface the same day.

“I don’t know if it’s the soil at your house, but it did run for quite some time without showing its face,” Belle said to Myers.

Myers urged the water district, which checks water meters quarterly, to do so more frequently. “The procedure that the water company holds doesn’t seem to be right,” she said. “This is not a one-off. This happens. The water municipalities should make some kind of effort to make sure that residents are notified in a timely manner.”

Frederick Kurz, the district’s board secretary, said that it collected $275,556 this year from customers who have liens on their homes because of late bills. “Those liens are all customers in the district that, whether they had a leak or not, they simply didn’t pay their utility bill for months,” Kurz said. “They’re not broken out into different situations.”

Belle said that he and the other board members had discussed plans to install a “smart” water system, which would allow more frequent meter readings. The coronavirus pandemic, however, delayed many of the district’s short-term plans.

“I’ve only been superintendent for 19 months, but when I was in service installing these meters, I have been begging to get this thing online,” Belle said of the smart water system. “2020 wasn’t so easy to get my dream list accomplished, but it’s something that we want to do.”

The cost for the necessary equipment would be $80,000, according to the district. “I don’t control the financial side of things, but if it financially makes sense, I would support the technology,” said district Engineer James Neri.

Belle said that many of the board members, including him, live in the district, and understand customers’ issues and concerns. “This is not something to get one over on the customer,” Belle said. “We’re a municipality; it’s all ratepayer money. I don’t pocket this money when I leave. We’re all just trying to do the best to provide clean water for the residents.”

“Understood, but at the same time, residents shouldn’t have to be burdened with this if there’s something that could be done,” Myers said. “This is something that everyone should be aware of, because I don’t want other people to go through this.”

Belle said that given the rarity of her situation, the board would make a decision on her bills at a future meeting.