Question: Does the Honolulu Board of Water Supply do estimated meter readings? If so, do they ever adjust them? My bill (single-family home) has been the same most months, even though the number of people in my house might change or the weather changes.
Answer: Yes, estimated bills occur when BWS staff are unable to read the property meter. Actual readings are obtained later and bills are adjusted as needed, but adjustments aren’t always necessary because the BWS bills in 1,000-gallon increments and rounds down.
Before we get to spokesperson Kathleen M. Elliott-Pahinui’s detailed response, we’ll note that the BWS’ higher water rates and meter charges took effect Feb. 1. Rates and charges will increase twice this year and once a year thereafter, through 2028. For details, go to boardofwatersupply.com and click on “Approved Water Rates.”
Back to Elliott-Pahinui’s response:
“The Board of Water Supply bills customers for water usage based on actual meter readings collected from the property meter. Initially a water data collection clerk (formerly known as a meter reader) uses a ‘drive-by process’ to collect meter readings on a computer via radio signals while driving by. If a drive-by reading cannot be obtained, a water data collection clerk will visit the meter to manually get the reading. The BWS uses these readings to bill a customer for water usage. If the BWS is unable to get a meter reading for some reason, it will estimate consumption based on the customer’s recent average water usage. … When an actual meter reading is obtained from a meter whose reading has been estimated, the BWS compares the actual reading with the estimated bill reading. Then we can make adjustments to the usage charge, if needed. The BWS charges its customers per 1,000 gallons (kgal) of water used. Unless usage by your home’s occupants differs by 1,000 gallons of water or more each month, usage would remain steady, as the BWS rounds down to the lesser thousands of gallons used. It does not charge for a quantity of water that is not yet used. Eventually, as the household continues to use water, the charges could even out, as the customer moves into the next kgal in a subsequent billing period.”
Elliott-Pahinui said you should contact BWS customer service to determine why your bill has been static month after month and whether an adjustment is needed.
REAL ID documents
Initial application for a gold-star Hawaii driver’s license or state ID requires the applicant to verify legal U.S. presence, legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and Hawaii principal address. For U.S. citizens, here are some acceptable documents; any document must be a valid original or certified copy: See 808ne.ws/REALdocs for a more complete list, as posted by Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services:
>> Legal presence, legal name and date of birth: U.S. passport or passport card; U.S. state or local government-issued birth certificate; U.S. state or local government-issued Consular Report of Birth Abroad; citizenship certificate (N-560 or N-561); or naturalization certificate (N-550 or N-570). Any one of the aforementioned documents can prove all three categories, if the person’s name has not changed.
>> Social Security number: Applicants are no longer required to present hard-copy proof. It is optional to present one of the following: original paper Social Security card; W-2 form, SSA-1099 form or non-SSA 1099 form from the previous year; pay stub with the applicant’s name.
>> Hawaii principal residence address: Two documents from different accounts or entities are required. Each must show the Hawaii address and the applicant’s full first and last names as the addressee. Among numerous options: valid Hawaii driver’s license; current vehicle registration or title; valid insurance statement or card; mail less than 2 months old from a government or medical entity; bill or account statement less than 2 months old from a utility or financial institution; payroll check stub not more than 6 months old; current property tax receipt or current mortgage account statement; or current residential rental agreement for six months or more. There are many other acceptable documents in this category.
A U.S. citizen could meet all five requirements by presenting, for example, a current U.S. passport, valid Hawaii driver’s license and current electrical bill. The name and address must be the same on all documents.
Mahalo
I would like to send a big mahalo to the guy who stopped to take a look at my car when it overheated at Kapiolani Regional Park. It was comforting to know that I could add water when the car cooled down and take it to the shop, as opposed to have something major go wrong and have to have it towed. Much mahalo. — A reader
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
