I have some follow-up information on the AquaHawk water usage monitoring service that is available to City of Appleton utility customers.
Director of Public Works Paula Vandehey was helpful enough to answer the questions I had about the AquaHawk service and the city’s Water Leak Policy.
The AquaHawk service and the Water Leak Policy both came up at the most recent Utilities Committee meeting during which the committee considered a credit adjustment request by a property owner for some high bills she received due to an unnoticed water leak. The policy lays out a number of conditions that need to be met in order for a credit adjustment to be approved, one of which is to have an AquaHawk account set up prior to the start of the leak.
If a property owner experiences a leak and meets all of the requirements set forth in the policy, they would be eligible to have the rate for the water lost due to the leak reduced from the standard $6.08 per 1,000 gallons to $4.68 per 1,000 gallons. Beyond that, however, having an AquaHawk account that monitors a property’s water usage should help property owners identify leaks more quickly so that they can be stopped before the leaks cause prohibitively expensive bills.
In the situation that came before the Utilities Committee, had the property owner had an AquaHawk account set up she would most likely have been notified much sooner about the leak and had the opportunity to fix it before she consumed several years worth of water. She also would have been eligible to receive a credit adjustment for the full period of the leak instead of only the 14 days after she was notified of the leak by the City of Appleton. [A bald reading of the policy suggests that she didn’t actually qualify for any rate adjustment at all given the lack of an account. If the Common Council decides to approve the credit adjustment it will be interesting to see if other property owners with leaks end up appealing for credit adjustment on the basis of that precedent having been set. At any rate…]
A question that came up during the Utilities Committee meeting was whether or not landlords were able to open AquaHawk accounts for their rental properties. Director Vandehey was able to confirm that landlords are able to do that. They just “need to get the account information from their tenant or from the Finance Department via a consent form.”
Although not a part of the committee discussion, I did notice the Water Leak Policy also mentioned leaks that happen before the water meter which would not be caught by the AquaHawk system, so I asked Director Vandehey some questions about that. If the leaking pipe is replaced or repaired within 30 days of the notice, the city will not bill the property owner for the water lost. If it goes beyond the 30 days, the city will bill using calculations from the American Water Works Association. (https://www.awwa.org/) [As a note, property owners may want to contact their insurance company and find out if they have options to cover repairs to their water and sewer laterals.]
Per Director Vandehey, some signs of leaks before the water meter include water in the basement, a wet area in the yard, and active sump pump even during dry periods, the sound of water running into a storm drain during a dry period, and reduced water pressure.
Below I have included all my questions and Director Vandehey’s answers.
Question: If I understand things correctly, property owners need to have an AquaHawk account set up prior to a leak if they want to get a credit adjustment. If a resident has a leak and meets all the requirements to receive a credit adjustment what is the credit adjustment that they would receive?
Answer: The cost of the water that was lost due to the leak would be charged at $4.68 per thousand gallons instead of $6.08 per thousand gallons.
Question: Would the charges for the water lost due to the leak be completely forgiven or would the price per 1,000 gallons simply be reduced?
Answer: If a customer fixed the leak ASAP to minimize the water loss, and notified us in a timely manner, they could be eligible for a credit according to this policy (if all other conditions were met). The cost would only be reduced to the lowest Public Service Commission (PSC) approved rate. The current lowest approved rate for Appleton customers is $4.68 per thousand gallons (a reduction of $1.40 per thousand gallons).
Question: In the committee meeting in question, Abby had the rate she was charged decreased by $1.40 per 1,000 gallons, but she hadn’t had an AquaHawk account set up and so didn’t meet all the policy’s requirements to receive a credit adjustment. So, it wasn’t clear to me if she received the same credit adjustment a person who met all the requirements would have received even though she didn’t meet the requirements or if she would have received a larger adjustment if she had met all the policy requirements.
Answer: She would have a received a larger credit if she would have met the requirements. The credit given approved by the committee was for water lost between May 30 (when the leak met the City’s review criteria of 30 gallons per hour for at least 120 consecutive hours and June 12 when the leak was fixed). The credit of $65.98 reflects the $1.40 reduction in the rate for the water lost between May 30th and June 12th. If the customer had an AquaHawk account set-up the credit would have been larger, due to applying the reduced rate to a longer time frame. However, we would have hoped that a notice would have been received earlier by the customer and the leak would have been fixed earlier. Had Abby had an AquaHawk account the full credit would have been approximately $220.
Question: Additionally, there was some question as to whether landlords could set up AquaHawk accounts for their rental properties. Has that question been figured out yet?
Answer: Yes, Landlords can sign up for AquaHawk, but they need to get the account information from their tenant or from the Finance Department via a consent form.
Question: I was also wondering if the city had any recommendations on water use threshold settings for AquaHawk users. In one of the videos you posted, it looked like city staff recommended to set it to alert you if you use 1 gallon every hour for 8 hours. Are there any other settings you’d recommending starting out with?
Answer: Since every situation is so unique, we recommend calling our office for guidance if someone wants to get more advanced with their account parameters.
Question: The water leak policy also says that leaks between the city connection and the water meter are the responsibility of the property owner. Since AquaHawk monitors your meter, I’m assuming it can’t help alert you to a leak before the meter. How can property owners know if there is a leak before the meter?
Answer: Typically, the resident will get water in their basement, see a wet area in their yard, have an active sump pump (even during dry periods), hear water running into a storm drain (during a dry period), reduced water pressure, etc.
Question: Also, do property owners get charged for a leak before the meter, and, if so, how is the amount of water determined?
Answer: This is lost water that is not billed, if the service is replaced or repaired within 30 days of the notice. If not, a daily estimate is determined, and the customer may be charged for the lost water until the service is replaced or repaired. If we need to bill for this water loss, we use calculations from AWWA. This calculation is based on the size of the leak, size of the water main in the street, water pressure at the main, how fast our pressure gauge drops when testing the service, etc.
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