SAN ANTONIO — Curtis Gray, 78, has lived in his small east-side home for almost 30 years. He says he never had issues with the water before it was suddenly cut off twice in three weeks.
Eventually, Gray called KENS 5.
"I was shocked because I always paid my bills and my meter has been in my name," he said.
He said he was able to get the meter turned back on, but didn't want it to happen again. He had already called the police after the second time it happened when he called KENS 5.
It turns out there was more going on. When we arrived at his home, we found Gray's water meter was in his name but not on his property.
Gray inherited his home from family members around 30 years ago. It turns out that when the house was first built, it sat on a larger lot that contained two homes sharing the same lateral water line.
The family eventually sold the back half of the lot where the water meter, and the second home, was located. But both homes continued to be on the same water meter.
"When there were tenants in the other home, we always split the water bill," Gray said.
When Riverbend Realty Group acquired the second home and put it up for sale, they had the meter turned off because there was no one in the home, which led to the confusion. KENS 5 reached out to Riverbend Realty Group for a statement, but we never heard back.
Unfortunately, the solution to the problem will be expensive. When KENS 5 contacted the San Antonio Water System, SAWS Spokeswoman Anne Hayden said both homes really need to have separate water lines with a water meter on each.
Hayden said in a statement that "when land is purchased without access to water or sewer mains, the new owner is required to pay impact fees to gain service, as well as build a line (lateral) that taps into the main. In some cases, they may also be required to purchase an easement across another owner’s property to connect to a main.
"Developers include these costs in the prices of new homes," Hayden continued, "but the average buyer may not be aware of these costs. SAWS advises potential homebuyers to ensure they have their own service line and water meter to avoid any future service issues.”
Hayden later told KENS 5 the meter would normally belong to the person owning the property it's located on, but added they would make an exception for Gray's case and allow him to keep the meter. Unfortunately, both property owners are still financially on the hook to get individual service lines, and Gray would need to pay for an easement going to his water meter.
SAWS said the cost would easily be more than $7,000.
Fixing a trend
At the same time, KENS 5 found out this is not the first time a San Antonio homeowner has ended up in this situation.
In fact, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo has already proposed a new Water and Sewer Lateral Improvements Program to help residents pay for these issues.
"A trend that we have identified in older parts of our district is the trend of water and sewer laterals having access cut off," Castillo said. "Properties have over several years been cut into smaller parcels... restricting access to the main lateral. We're running into constituents unaware that they don't have access to the full lateral and unaware of the expenses that come with getting connected to the lateral line."
Castillo said the program would partner with SAWS to help connect community members with utility lateral lines, which many San Antonians can't afford. The program already has support from four other San Antonio City Council members but still needs to be considered by a city utility committee.
Castillo said it was too early to say how long approval could take.
KENS 5 also reached out to District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, whose district Gray lives in. The councilman was unavailable for an interview, but provided the following statement:
"Unfortunately, Mr. Gray’s situation is not unique and many residents are struggling with improper utility infrastructure. We have reached out to SAWS about Mr. Gray's situation and are not satisfied with their response. We will continue to advocate for Mr. Gray, including supporting a potential citywide SAWS lateral program."
KENS 5 will continue to follow this issue.
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.