Some customers of the City of Asheville water system may see water bills arriving later than usual.
Here’s why your water bill might be later than expected
With existing water meters reaching the end of their battery life and no longer able to remotely transmit usage data, Water Resources Department crews are having to manually read them.
It take takes more time to manually read a meter than reading them remotely. As a result, meter reading is slower than it has been in the past.
The continued progression of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project – which will see new meters installed in each of the system’s approximately 63,000 water connections – will mitigate this issue. That project is scheduled for substantial completion in 2025.
What happens as meters are replaced?
Until project completion, Water Resources has hired temporary staff to supplement existing personnel in an effort to manually read meters. The Department is dedicating every available resource to ensuring this process moves as quickly as possible.
What do I pay?
Water bills and e-bills are still being sent to customers daily. Although some may arrive later, and may encompass billing cycles longer or shorter than the usual two months, the amount due will represent water consumption between listed usage dates.
Customers will still have 20 days from the billing date to remit payment. As always, payment plans will be available to customers who need them if the bill for the adjusted time period is significantly greater than what customers have budgeted for payment.
For more information, contact the Water Resources Department Customer Service Center by calling (828) 251-1122.