Toronto's system for metering, recording and billing for water usage is working well, but when major billing errors occur they are impossible to solve, the city's ombudsman says in a new investigative report.
Ombudsman Fiona Crean's report, released Wednesday, found serious billing errors often go unexplained by city staff or unresolved because of restrictions in the Toronto Municipal Code.
Crean launched an investigation into the city's metering, recording and billing process following a steady stream of complaints about skyrocketing bills due to sudden, baffling increases in water consumption, according to a news release issued by her office.
In her report, Crean cited a complaint that was lodged by "Ms. M," a senior living alone following the death of her spouse.
The woman's water bills usually range between $180 and $250 every four months for the consumption of 18,000 to 25,000 gallons of water.
Woman received $1,200 bill
That changed in March 2011, when "Ms. M" was shocked to receive a bill of $1,292.38 for 131,000 gallons that she supposedly used during the previous four months, the ombudsman's office said.
During that four-month period, "Ms. M" spent most of her waking hours at a hospital with her dying husband.
Her water usage had been consistent for years and she is careful about the fixtures and water-use practices in her home, according to Crean's report.
After she received the sky-high bill, "Ms. M" had her meter tested and a plumber checked for leaks, but no problems were found.
"Ms. M was credible and consistent in her story, and like many others we talked to, her consumption bizarrely returned to regular levels in the next billing period," Crean said.
Crean found that city staff cannot resolve these types of problems because of restrictions in the Toronto Municipal Code, which only allows the city to give a refund when the water meter is defective or when there is an error by the city.
Neither situation was the case for "Ms. M," but city employees were still unable to explain the "incomprehensible spike" in her water consumption and bill, the report found.
Crean said new meters are being installed across the city to provide more accurate and timely information, but "the existing system remains imperfect and the city knows this."
City accepts recommendations: ombudsman
Crean's report, dubbed Water Works: An Investigation Into Water Billing, Metering and Customer Service, contains seven recommendations to help Torontonians "beset with inexplicably high water bills."
Crean said the most significant recommendation calls on city council to amend the municipal code to give staff the authority, with associated criteria, to adjust water bills when there is an unexplained increase in water usage.
According to the ombudsman's office, city manager Joe Pennachetti has agreed to implement all seven recommendations.
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