Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
The Fallbrook Public Utility District Board of Directors unanimously voted Monday, Jan. 27, to partially refund a ratepayer who says he was billed for dozens of gallons of water he never used.
Ron Harlan, an eight-year resident of Fallbrook, said the problem arose after he returned from a vacation in August.
Harlan said he pre-paid about $220 before leaving, then informed FPUD that he may not be back in time to pay whatever bill may remain. He said he was told it would be no problem to pay the bill the next month.
Harlan was shocked, though, to open his September bill and find a charge for more than $800.
That amount, Harlan said, included charges for water he believed he did use, but he said he had been inaccurately billed for 40,000 gallons he did not use, during a three-to-four-day period when he was not home, amounting to about $400, by his estimation.
Harlan claimed there was no evidence of that much water anywhere on his property – and he knows what that can look like because he did have a pipe break in December 2018 that spilled thousands of gallons.
“When I came back, I got a big bill and I paid it because quite frankly, I knew what happened,” Harlan said.
In this case, he has no idea what happened, and he said even an investigation by FPUD engineers showed no evidence of flooding, excessive greening or anything else that could indicate a spill of any kind.
“If 40,000 gallons of water were delivered to me over four days, there had to be some evidence,” Harlan said. “Nothing, no drainage flow on the surface, no greening. If there had been run-on toilets, faucets, somebody had turned on every single faucet in my house … and all that water somehow went into the septic, it would have popped the lids on the septic.”
Harlan said his neighbor, who had previously witnessed the December 2018 pipe break, also attested that he had seen no similar event in August.
And if there had been a similar pipe break, Harlan wondered, why did his recorded water usage go back to normal?
“How did we have this spike in usage for three days and it suddenly goes back to normal after that period?” he asked.
FPUD director questioned Harlan on the size of his septic system, but ultimately moved to refund him partially for the amount he was asking for.
“In my opinion, that water did go on that land, but I don’t want to argue about it and go through any more time on Mr. Harlan’s part or on the staff’s part,” FPUD Director Charley Wolk said, who recommended Harlan be repaid $325.
Harlan said he thinks that amount was a little too low – he believes the estimate was based on the amount of water he typically uses, even though he was not actually home at the time the extra water usage was recorded – but said he would accept it.
“They shorted me about $125,” he said, “but honestly, I didn’t even expect them to give me anything.”
Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].
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