Residents ripped off by water bills

• Source: Global Times
• [09:29 July 14 2010]
• Comments

By Chen Xiaoru

The State-owned water company in charge of administering monthly bills to households situated south of Suzhou Creek said Tuesday that it is working to update old water meters that produce inaccurate readings, resulting in higher charges for residents.

Shanghai Shinan Water Company, which oversees the supply of water to households in several districts located south of Suzhou Creek, said that residents who have been wrongly overcharged will also be compensated accordingly, and a new water meter at their home will be installed.

According to the company's director, a man surnamed Yu, residents who suspect their water meters are delivering incorrect readings, can make a complaint to the 5521 2073 hot line.

"Residents can request a check on their water meter, and we will send someone to have a look," he said. "If they have been wrongly charged, then we will solve the problem by compensating the fees and by setting up a new water meter."

The news follows reports this week that found that old water meters, still being used at residential homes around the city, are showing inaccurate readings causing residents to be overcharged for their monthly water bills.

Yu said that the company has been trying to solve this problem for a long time, and urged residents to be patient in the matter.

"Due to the existing water meters, which are usually only reliable for up to six years, the city has been replacing household water meters for years," he said. "But completing this task overnight isn't feasible with limited manpower."

The city first began the arduous task of updating water meters around the city as early as 2005. As of last year, over 500,000 had been completed, according to a report Tuesday by Xinmin Evening News.

The issue was brought to public attention earlier this week by local media reporting after a resident found that he was being overcharged for his water bill by some 20 percent every month. Cai Gensheng filed complaints to authorities after making the discovery following a series of tests conducted on his water meter and those of his neighbors.

"The water meter at my home was changed by authorities in 2005, but last year I noticed that my water meter wasn't working properly, and I was being overcharged," he told the Global Times Tuesday. "I suggest residents do their own tests to make sure they aren't paying too much."

Meanwhile, residents just discovering that they, too, have been victim to a faulty water meter, were unpleasantly surprised Tuesday.

"This is ridiculous," Qin Yuxiang, a resident in Pudong New Area, whose water meter has not been changed in the past decade, told the Global Times Tuesday. "I tested my water meter today, and while I measured only half a liter of water the meter showed a 0.2-liter increase.

"Who knows how long we have been overpaying the water company," she added.

The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, the government body responsible for guaranteeing the quality of water meters around the city, was not answering calls made Tuesday by the Global Times.