ABILENE, TX — As smart water meters are seemingly causing a noticeable increase in water bills for Abilene residents, they are calling on the city to look into the issue.
According to KTXS, Abilene resident Todd Lawrence saw his last two bills $200 than his average monthly bill.
“I just didn’t believe I used that much water,” said Lawrence.
According to Amanda Pope, Public Information Officer for Abilene Water Utilities, the department has received “a lot of calls concerned about their bills going up.”
Currently, the City of Abilene has been sending out “detailed statements to residents who are seeing higher bills with the installation of the smart meters.”
The statement details water usage on an hour-by-hour basis and the meters have the ability to detect small leaks and irrigation systems, something the old meters were not doing accurately.
According to the city, it may have lost a lot of money due to the old meters measuring water usage inaccurately and thus impacting the billing.
