SAN ANTONIO — Seth Priestner just moved in to his new home in northwest San Antonio in April. His family had a normal water bill of around $115 for the next few months.
Then he got his August bill. That bill was $9,707, and stated the family used 355,000 gallons of water in a month.
"At first we thought they sent us the wrong bill. Like maybe they sent us a commercial bill," Priestner said. "But upon calling SAWS they said 'no that is your bill.'"
SAWS suggested Priestner had a leak. Priestner immediately called a plumber but the plumber couldn't find a leak anywhere. The family had, however, repaired a leak back in the middle of June.
The timing didn't make any sense, but Priestner did contact SAWS back about the bill and ask for a reduction because the family had done everything possible to fix leaks on their end.
SAWS reduced the bill to around $6,500, but that still included a nearly $3,500 "Stage 3 Drought Surcharge" fine.
Priestner called KENS 5.
"That is strictly there to discourage people from using excessive water. I don't think that's the case here." Priestner said. "It doesn't make sense to fine someone."
But how did SAWS come up with a bill that claimed Priestner used 355,000 gallons, which is half an Olympic swimming pool, in a month if he didn't actually have a leak during that time?
It turns out, SAWS had not actually physically checked Priestner's water meter for either June or July.
Instead, SAWS spokeswoman Anne Hayden told KENS 5 the utility had "estimated" the family's usage for June and July. This meant SAWS had no idea when those 355,000 gallons of water actually went through the meter and the bills over the last three months had not been accurate.
Hayden said SAWS had initially reduced the bill because of this situation.
"Because there were two estimated reads we couldn't be sure when that water use was happening in those two months, so we did give him a partial credit," Hayden said.
That still left the question of why the bill included a nearly $3,500 fine.
But then, after KENS 5 brought that to the attention of SAWS, the utility dropped the fine as well. Hayden told KENS 5 over email staff should have removed the fine with the earlier adjustment.
She later told KENS 5 on camera, "We decided, just to be careful, to give him credit back on the surcharge (fine)."
SAWS said there was not an issue with the current water meter but the utility did quickly swap that meter out for a new "SAWS ConnectH2O" meter that can be electronically monitored by both the utility and the homeowner.
Hayden showed KENS how the new meters have an app that can monitor hourly water usage and help detect any leaks. SAWS was able to monitor water use so well with the new meter that they were able to alert the family with a "continuous leak alert" when they left a hose running later in September.
"This is going to be a wonderful thing to use and we are looking forward to all our customers having access to it," Hayden said.
Hayden said SAWS is currently replacing the old analogue meters across the city with new smart meters and the utility hopes to replace all the analogue meters by the end of 2025.
Priestner said he's thankful SAWS dropped the fine after all and he's glad he called KENS 5.
"I'm certainly appreciative of them working with us. I have a very hard time believing I would have gotten the same results had I not had your assistance," Priestner said.
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