Susan Wagoner
The town of Salina is speaking up about allegations they mistakenly turned on the wrong water meter, flooding a vacant house. The house is located on Saltwell Street.
The house, owned by Ronald and Michelle Lee, had been thoroughly winterized by her grandmother, who left the home to the couple when she died.
There was no water service to the home and hadn’t been since September 2007, according to Lee.
On April 14, the Lees discovered water pouring from beneath the home, subsequently causing flood damage.
The Lees said Randall Coon, Utility Superintendent, told them service had recently been turned on to a nearby house on Fountain street. The meters for the two
houses are just a few feet apart.
The Lees think the town inadvertently turned on the wrong meter, something the town denies.
“Meters are determined and identified by the last meter reading,” Town Clerk P.J. Pape said. “The meter on Fountain was locked on
April 3.”
Service was interrupted at the home, which had recently been emptied.
“On April 3, the meter reading was 505,” Pape said. “On April 8, service was restored to the residence when new renters moved in. The reading was 505.”
The next day, on April 9, utility crews took meter
readings from customers,
including the two meters in question.
“The Lees’ home read 42 on the 9th,” Pape said, adding that there had been no usage and the meter was still locked at that time.
“If we had turned on the wrong meter the day before, the lock would have been disturbed,” she said. “Our guys know what they’re doing. They’ve done this many, many times. If they had turned on a meter and it began spinning, that’s an indicator that something is on in the house.” That didn’t happen according to the town.
When Coon met with the Lees regarding the flooded house, he noticed that the meter was unlocked.
“Sometime between April 9, when the readings were taken, and April 14, when the flood occurred, the meter had been unlocked,” Pape said. The locks are not tamper proof.
Lee said the city’s insurance company adjustor, Mary Ellis, suggested the renter of the other home may have turned on the water in an effort to gain service illegally.
An unlikely story, according to Lee, and to the town of Salina.
“His water had been turned on five days earlier than the date of the flood,” Pape said. “If he’d turned on his own water, we would have known when the meter readings were taken. There hadn’t been any usage.”
A team of two utility workers usually complete work orders, according to Pape.
David Potter, a former town employee, and Don Wright, were the workers who turned the service on to the meter. Both men signed the work order.
The following month, when readings were again taken, the Lees’ home showed usage of 1,000 gallons, indicating that water was restored at some point, causing the flood.
“The paperwork tells me our guys didn’t make this mistake,” Pape said, adding that the Lees are not being billed for the usage. “We know it wasn’t their intent to use 1,000 gallons. We know something happened, but accidentally or not, our guys didn’t do it.”
A metal lock was installed on the Lees’ meter, to better secure it.
“Our guys were adamant because we to have procedures that help prevent error,” Pape said. “We’re paying the same insurance premium either way. It doesn’t cost us anything to be honest. We accept liability if we are liable.”
For the Lees, they will have to decide whether or not file a legal claim against the town for damages.
And while the town is sympathetic, they are sure their procedures worked in this case.
“Our guys are adamant that they didn’t do this,” Pape said. “These guys know Randall. Paper trail is everything, they know that.”
Coon has been with the Salina Utility Department for 18 years.
