How a Lisle man ended up with a $3,300 water bill

A Lisle resident owes the village more than $3,300, village officials say, after they discovered he wasn't billed for hundreds of thousands of gallons of water he apparently used over a 19-year span.

Since 1996, the village says it has charged Stephen Spratt for water based on use information provided by a remote meter outside his house.

No one, including Spratt, checked during that time to see if the reading from that device matched the reading from the water meter inside his house.

When Lisle replaced Spratt's water meters in July as part of a villagewide replacement program, officials discovered the indoor meter had a reading that was 819,000 gallons more than the reading on the outdoor meter.

To make up the difference, Spratt was charged $3,321 for water on his Aug. 28 utility bill.

“I was completely blown away by the whole thing,” said Spratt, adding that previous monthly water bills for his family of four were never more than $100. “To expect me to go back and pay for 19 years' worth of water usage is unethical.”

Spratt said he initially thought the massive bill resulted from a system glitch.

But village officials say the problem actually was caused by Spratt's remote meter, which apparently malfunctioned because of age, wear or damage.

“Unfortunately, what happens over time is that the outside remote will slow down and not match the actual water usage on the inside meter,” said Jason Elias, Lisle's public works director.

Spratt isn't the only Lisle resident facing an unexpectedly high bill.

The village is in the process of replacing water meters for roughly 5,000 homes over five years. Elias said of the 900 customers who received meters this year, between 30 and 50 had discrepancies.

None of the other customers, however, ended up with a bill as large as Spratt's.

“Typically, it might be a couple hundred dollars,” Elias said. “That's because people have checked their meters on a regular basis or moved (which prompts the village to check the meters). So it hasn't been 19 years since we've had that reconciliation between the inside and the outside meters.“

Until July, the last time anyone from the village compared the meters at Spratt's home was January 1996 — three months before he moved in.

“If they're using the excuse that the inside meter is the accurate reading, why aren't they checking meters more often than once every 19 years?” Spratt said.

Elias said readings are done off the remote devices because “there's issues with gaining access to people's homes.”

He said that's why Lisle urges residents in water bills and village newsletters to periodically compare the readings on their remote and indoor meters.

“But we can't force people to do it,” Elias said. “If it's never reconciled, we have no way of knowing whether or not there's a discrepancy.”

Spratt said he never thought to check his water meters. “I don't know about you, but I don't read newsletters,” he said.

Elias said the village understands discrepancies will happen. That's why Lisle has a policy of charging those customers a reduced rate for past water use.

In Spratt's case, he could have been charged $5,473, but that amount was adjusted down, officials said. Instead of paying the current rate of $6.50 per 1,000 gallons, he's being asked to pay $3.91 per 1,000 gallons.

Lisle also is offering to have him repay the outstanding balance “via a payment plan at no interest.”

But Spratt isn't happy.

“It's the principle more than the money,” he said.

He would like the village to “wipe the slate clean,” so he's considering whether to take his concerns directly to the village board.

Mayor Joseph Broda, however, said the village has to pay the DuPage Water Commission for “every drop” of water the town gets — even water lost because of leaks, main breaks, hydrant flushing and fighting fires.

So when the village finds instances where residents received water they haven't paid for, Broda said, “we tell them they have to pay the bill.”

“At the end of the day, we're paying for the water through the water commission,” Broda said, “and the meter inside the house doesn't lie.”