Somerville homeowners hit with soaring water bills

Many Somerville residents are getting a shock when they go to pay their water bills.

Changes to the city’s water metering system have increased water bills by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. In an extreme case, one property owner received a bill for over $41,000.

City officials say the water bill spike is the result of old water meters not accurately transmitting usage amounts for billing. As Somerville has been replacing the aging meters, officials discovered many residents were being undercharged for water use, and sent out bigger bills to recoup the underpayments.

Hundreds of people have complained about the water bills on a community Facebook page. And beyond that, even public officials have not been spared. State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven represents Somerville in the state Legislature and said she, too, was among those hit with a surprise $4,000 water bill this year.

“It was like, wow, we’ve never paid that much before,” she said.

Uyterhoeven blamed “old, crumbling infrastructure” in Somerville and other cities, like Newton, for the recent meter-reading problems.

“I think that there is just a kind of bigger picture,” she said. “Water pipes are not what's always top of mind during election season. But it is like a really essential infrastructure.”

City officials have not disclosed the full scale of the issue in terms of numbers of residents affected or the total dollar amounts being charged for back payments.

Grace Munns, a city spokesperson, told WBUR, “The city is exploring a rate-payer assistance program to determine what support we may be able to provide to residents.” She said the city cannot waive water bills or lower the 14% annual interest rate charged on balances, based on state law. She said the city will not turn off water service for nonpayment of bills.

According to the city, low-income seniors and other eligible people may qualify for a needs-based exemption, which can lower water bills by up to 25%.

Ben Ewen-Campen, president of the City Council, who represents Ward 3, said councilors have been “raising hell” about this issue for months, but there’s not much they can do. He said the city should provide more assistance to people who need help paying their bills.

“If I could wave a wand and waive these fees, I would have done it months ago,” he said. “This is just completely unfair.”

Ewen-Campen likened the situation to the city charging $45 for parking tickets instead of $50 — and “years later, sending everybody an angry letter saying, ‘Oh, you've got to pay us back for the difference that we accidentally undercharged you for.’ ”

He added that some residents have received “outrageously” high bills that turned out to be erroneous. “We connect them to the water and sewer department, an error is corrected, and they get a reasonable bill,” he said.

City officials said the property owner who received a bill for over $41,000 apparently had a water leak that went undetected for “a significant amount of time.”

A “small number” of residents previously overcharged for their water usage are receiving refunds, according to the city. Uyterhoeven said her office has helped multiple constituents who've called about high water bills by connecting them with the city and getting them on payment plans.