Albany residents are reporting problems with expensive water bills after installing smart meters

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Residents of the city of Albany are seeing big changes in their water bills after new smart water meters were installed at several properties in the city.

After Marcus Harris’ mother had her old water meter replaced with a smart water meter, his mother had to pay more than $21,000 for her water bill.

“My first reaction was shock. We couldn’t believe it. I don’t know of anywhere where you can use that much water,” Harris said.

Harris says his mother normally pays $200 for her water bill, and $21,000 was unfathomable. Experts say the new smart water meters are not the problem; Problems arise during installation when technicians crack water pipes or install broken washers on water pipes.

The smart water meters are designed to measure the amount of water flowing through the meter and report that data directly to Albany Utilities. If the meter installation is not done correctly, it can cause a leak, forcing the meter to measure the amounts of water you are not using.

City officials say that in an effort to keep up with technology, changing the city’s meters was necessary.

“We wanted to come into the 21st century. Other cities in other states are doing this. The meters we’ve had have probably been there for 50 to 60 years,” said City Commissioner Jon Howard.

The Harris family is grateful that they were able to resolve the problem with their water bill, and they hope they can determine the cause of the high bill.

“There was no explanation for the error. I believe they should send someone out to investigate to make sure the usage is being calculated correctly and there are no leaks or anything like that,” Harris said.

If you believe you may have overpaid on your previous utility bill, please contact the City of Albany Utilities Department at (229) 883-8330.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs to be corrected? Let us know. Please include the headline of the article in your message.

Follow WALB on to stay up to date with all the latest developing news Facebook And X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app Apple Store or Google Play.