The city reads water meters for 116,000 accounts every other month. For the in-between months, customers are billed for an estimated amount of water based on average consumption. It gets worse. The bills that have actual meter readings show how much you used for two months. To figure out the previous month's consumption, you have to subtract the estimated use from the two-month total.
City officials blame money for the confusion.
During tight budget times in 1981, Mayor Bob Martinez cut the city's corps of 19 meter-readers nearly in half and did away with monthly readings. But this money-pinching approach can be confusing and also can let undetected leaks run longer before you know there's a problem. Each bill contains a 14-month history of water consumption, Hill says, giving consumers a gauge for water use. But that raises another problem. The fine print on the back of the bill shows that 100 cubic feet equals 750 gallons.