TULSA, Okla — Patrecia Ricketts bailed water out of her meter box to show the Problem Solvers her meter does work.
It runs when water is turned on in the house and stops when it is turned off. However, a leak meant the meter box is full of water.
It ran down the gutter in front of the house she rents on north Utica.
A month ago, she told the Tulsa City Water Department about the leak. The city told her the leak is on her side of the meter. The plumber said the leak is on the city's side.
During all this, Ricketts received a bigger-than-normal water bill. The city put her on a payment plan to pay it off.
No one came to fix the leak or said if that caused her big bill.
The Problem Solvers contacted the city about Ricketts' concern.
The city sent a crew to repair the meter and explained:
The City has made repairs at that location to the City-owned service line. City crews have spoken to the customer and let them know it has been repaired. It’s of note, the service line would not have caused an increase in consumption at the residence, as the leak that was repaired was not on the customer’s side of the line.
Looking back at consumption at the residence, the customer’s July bill is higher than June’s, but it came on the heels of a low estimate in June.
If Tulsa utility customers have concerns about their bill, they can call 311. There are also several other factors that could be causing a higher-than-expected bill, including increased usage over the summer months, a leak inside the home (running toilets, dripping faucets, etc.), or a leak on the customer’s service line. To see a more exhaustive list of potential causes of increased bills, please visit www.cityoftulsa.org/utilities [cityoftulsa.org] and visit the link that says “Utility Billing – Frequently Asked Questions” on the front page.
Ricketts is still responsible for paying the larger bill.
Have concerns about your water bill?
Here's what to do:
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter