State Tells Cleveland To Fix Broken Water Meters

CLEVELAND - Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor is telling Cleveland to do something about a ballooning number of broken water meters forcing the city to guess what some customers owe.
   
A state audit has found the number of the water department accounts with unreadable meters rose to nearly 35,000 last year, from about 2,100 in 2003.
   
A recent investigation by The Plain Dealer newspaper of Cleveland found some water customers had not had a reading in years.
   
When there are meter problems, the city estimates what’s owed for water. Steve Faulkner, a spokesman for the auditor, says there’s no way to tell whether customers are paying too much or too little - or if the city is losing money.
   
The audit requires the water department to make the meters issue a high priority.

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