Question: Regarding the question about the estimated water bill (808ne.ws/estbill): We used to get a robo-call the night before saying “a meter reader will be in your neighborhood tomorrow to read your water meter.” They haven’t done this for a long time. … When we used to get the calls, we’d leave our gate open so the BWS rep could come and get the true reading. … I haven’t seen a BWS rep walking the area for quite a while. I wonder if BWS can explain this?
Answer: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply does drive-by meter-reading now, via a radio signal that transmits data to a receiver mounted on BWS vehicles that traverse Oahu neighborhoods, so it isn’t necessary for a meter reader to physically access most meters.
A video on the BWS website demonstrates the automated process; you can view it at 808ne.ws/bwsvideo.
There are times when the agency is unable to collect drive-by readings, said Kathleen M. Pahinui, BWS information officer. Among the factors that complicate the task:
>> Environmental factors, such as rainy weather that can flood the meter boxes and interfere with the radio signal used to pick up meter readings.
>> Physical objects blocking the radio signal sent from the meter, such as a car parked over the meter, or objects such as construction material, flower pots and even portable toilets.
>> Malfunctioning meters or malfunctioning automatic meter-reading equipment.
>> Multiple holidays in a month, which reduce the working hours of staff who collect the data.
“On those occasions when an actual meter reading is not secured, the standard practice is for a member of our staff to return to the location to assess the problem and manually obtain an actual meter reading,” Pahinui said.
As the earlier column noted, BWS’ standard practice is to bill a customer for actual usage based on their property’s meter. If a meter reading is not entered into the billing system within a certain period, the billing system automatically calculates an estimated bill based on the customer’s recent average usage. This is done “to ensure timely billing,” Pahinui said.
She pointed out another reason that a customer could be billed for the same amount month after month, which was at the core of the earlier reader’s query: “Because we bill for each 1,000 gallons or part used of 1,000 gallons, it is not unusual for a customer to consistently use the same amount of water from month to month. We don’t bill for each ‘gallon’ used.”
The estimated bills also assume that customers tend to use water at a consistent rate, making it all the more important to alert the agency if you are receiving estimated bills and your consumption has drastically changed (beyond the 1,000-gallon mark).
You can find more information about the agency’s billing rates at 808ne.ws/BWSrates.
Storm tip
Most Hawaii residents are familiar with the rituals of hurricane season. They know to stock up on water, canned goods, cash and fuel; to have secure electronic versions of important financial and personal documents; and to photograph or videotape the contents of their home or business to create a visual record should the need arise for an insurance claim.
The IRS has a timely reminder: If you download any of those records to an external hard drive or USB flash drive or burn them onto a CD or DVD, remember to store the physical form of those duplicates safely out of the danger zone.
If a natural disaster strikes your home or business, it may affect a wide area and you might be unable to retrieve any physical records stored in that region, the agency notes. It suggests storing the duplicates with a trustworthy relative or friend who lives off-island.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the bicyclist who stopped traffic to help me cross King Street. He could see that I was intimidated about stepping into the cycle track and then across the lanes of traffic. Rather than continuing on his way on the bike lane, he stopped, got off his bike and helped me across. Thank you. — A pedestrian
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
