Daleville water board agrees to adjustment request

A citizen request for an adjustment to a $900 water bill was approved at the Daleville Water Board meeting May 18.

The Daleville Water Board voted to make the adjustment after seeking an opinion from the board attorney, Henry Steagall, on the request.

At issue is the request that Daleville business owner Jan Davenport made for an adjustment to a $900 water bill that she had received in October 2020. The amount reflected the use of 150,000 gallons of water in one month, she told the water board when she attended the April 20 meeting.

“I had the water shut off that day,” she told the water board at the April meeting. “We checked everything and there were no leaks, no water anywhere,” she said.

Davenport told the board at the April meeting that her shop is located in back of her store on Daleville Avenue and both are on the same water meter. “That much water, they said, would fill up an Olympic sized swimming pool,” she said.

Davenport said she left the water off for three months before asking that it be reconnected. Her next bill was $54, which she said was more in line with bills prior to the $900 one.

Daleville Water Superintendent Orson Bullard told the board at the April meeting that Davenport’s meter had been tested and did not show a defect. She was set up on a payment plan, Bullard said. “She said that it was still too high because she said she is not making money.” At that point, Davenport requested to be on the water board agenda.

At the April 20 meeting, Water Board Member and City Councilman Jimmy Monk suggested asking the board attorney for guidance because the $900 water bill happened before the board’s bill adjustment policy changed to more stringent adjustment guidelines.

At the water board meeting May 18, Water Board Clerk Angelia Filmore told the board that she had contacted Steagall who advised that “Yes, the board can retroactively adjust her water bill and consider it an event that preceded the change in policy if they choose to.”

The board unanimously approved board member Jo Reese’s motion to do the adjustment because it was requested prior to the change in policy.

The board agreed that Davenport will be billed the six-month average—preceding the $900 of full water and sewer bill—and any late fees will be waived.

The next meeting of the Daleville Water Board is June 15 at 5 p.m. in the Daleville City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting is open to the public.