'Frustrated and upset': Newmarket homeowner tapped with hefty water bill after town installs new smart meters

Yorkregion.com
June 21, 2023

After the town installed a mandatory new water meter at his home, Grant Bickley received a hefty water bill.

He believes he’s being hit with catch-up costs for decades of the town miscalculating his bill under his old meter, which nobody ever came into his home to read.

Not correct, according to Mike Mayes, director of financial services for the Town of Newmarket.

Whether Bickley used the water or has a leak, the bill accurately reflects the amount of water his household has consumed based on the new water meter reading, Mayes said.

At the end of May, Bickley received a bill for 144,000 cubic feet of water usage in April at his Glenway home, where he has lived as the original owner for 37 years.

An Olympic-sized swimming pool uses 88,000 cubic feet.

Bickley’s April bill shows he used 556 cubic feet the previous month.

His May bill was for $2,270, which the town says it’s reducing to $1,845.

By comparison, his bills for the previous five months ranged from $92 to $121.

While Bickley, who lives with his wife and daughter, has a pool, he said there’s no way he consumed that amount of water in one month.

He also insists he doesn’t have a leak, saying his meter isn’t indicating water usage to the extent the town claims and he can’t hear water running in his house.

“My interpretation is they took my meter out and they’re now billing me for that 30-year-old meter for the difference that they never billed me for,” said Bickley, adding his billing rate appears to have increased and he has been denied access to seeing his old meter.

“I’ve always paid my bill but if they made an error or didn’t have proper equipment over the last 30 years, now they want to bill me for it? I am frustrated and upset about it … How many other people are maybe going to change their meter and the same thing happens to them?”

The town has significantly reduced Bickley’s bill and offered a 12-month, interest-free, payment plan for the outstanding balance, Mayes said.

“It is important to note that the water was used and the meter obtained reflects the water consumed at the property. The billing was based on three recent consecutive estimates,” he said.

“The town bills water consumption based on the meter reads obtained from the water meter reader. As you may understand, the town and its billing contractors do not have the ability to identify how the water is used. Whether the spike in consumption resulted from a leak or typical usage, the town’s billing contractors can only bill based on the meter reading.”

Expediting completion of Bickley’s meter upgrade will allow the town to flag his account for high consumption in the future through the leak detection program.

The new smart/remote meters being installed in 26,000 homes in Newmarket over the next two years provide hourly remote readings that can detect leaks within hours in cases such as a run-on toilet or a leaky pipe, Mayes said.

For more information, visit newmarket.ca/watermeters.