Q&A

American Water's current billing practices are driving a lot of the high costs behind our bills. They are legally permitted to bill anywhere between 26 and 35 days in a given period and will fluctuate (without any given pattern) between 28 and 35 days. Some months bills appear to be higher because they have an added week or so in the total and some cycles, typically the shorter, end up with two bills to be paid in the same month.

In addition to the billing cycle fluctuations, the current water and wastewater rates are as follows: Water: 1.6108; Wastewater 2.875. Bills are calculated based on water usage for both water and wastewater (no separate meter to read wastewater). Therefore, when you turn on the tap, you are charged for both whether the water goes down the drain or not - this also applies to watering lawns, filling pools, washing cars, etc. 

At the moment, the best thing to do is to review Page 3 of your bill to see how many days the cycle is for and determine if the bills is Actual (indicated by a "A") or Estimated (indicated by an "E").  If your bill is estimated, contact American Water and inquire as to why the bills has been estimated.  It is possible that they were unable to read your meter and given the feedback, estimates can be over or under the actual use so it's best to get to the bottom of the issue as soon as possible.  If you have concerns about having your meter changed out, see I recieved notice that my water meter needs to be replaced, will my bill go up? herein for more information.

The simple answer is No.  Many residents have called, some have received "yes" and then received follow-up calls saying "no".  At this time there is no way for PAWC to turn off the wastewater charge for outdoor activities.

Unless you own a farm and need an irrigation meter, PAWC will not permit a resident to install a separate outdoor meter which would not accumulate a wastewater fee.

No.  PAWC will not accept meter reads from meters that are not their property.
Wastewater meters are very expensive to purchase, install and maintain.  These expenses would likely fall on the homeowner if this was something that was pushed upon PAWC to act upon.  The meters would need to be cleaned ~annually as they use infared sensors to determine flow.  Waste buildup would need to be cleaned regularly to maintain accuracy.

This is a complicated question.  If PAWC was under estimating your water usage prior to the meter replacement, and the meter is being replaced because they were unable to read it properly (electronically), then it is possible that you may receive a higher bill.

If your usage remains the same between old and new meters, no the bill will not increase outside of a rate increase.

Residents who have noted higher bills after having their meter replaced may not have been accounting for the recent rate increase or any increased consumption/estimated bills prior to the swap.

Ultimately you cannot refuse to have your meter changed without termination of services.