DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Water meters being installed in Daytona Beach were causing controversy on Wednesday.
Some customers said the meters are leading to higher water bills.
However, the city said that the bills were increasing because the old meters were not as accurate.
The city of Daytona Beach said its meters last about six years, but they're working to replace meters as old as 35 years.
Rich Conrad was picking apart the sprinkler system in his neighborhood, the Key Colony in Daytona Beach Shores. He said it is his job to get the community's monthly water bill down ever since it surged from an average of $400 to $4,000 a month.
"I've been working probably 15, 17 hours a week the last two weeks. I'm not done yet. It's going to be a long process," said Conrad.
The process started a few months ago when the homeowner's association received its water bill from the city of Daytona Beach, which supplies the community.
When residents at Key Colony saw their water bill spike, they thought something was wrong with the water meter. But the spike was caused by the new meter just installed by the city of Daytona Beach that actually was measuring the water accurately.
"It was a big, big problem. Big problem, yeah, we had a special meeting and everything and uh, neighborhood is upset," said Conrad.
Daytona Beach officials admitted to WFTV that the city's meters are inaccurate.
In 2009, customers citywide paid more than $33 million for water.
In 2011, they paid $36 million, thanks to new meters.
Conrad understands the reason for the increase, but like his neighbors, he's upset that they weren't given any warning.
The inaccurate meters also affect individual homeowners.
WFTV
