Two days before my October utilities bill arrived, workers from the water department came to my house and replaced the waterline leading to the meter. I was pleased to see that they were finally getting around to repairing the leak my father and I had reported on two separate occasions more than two months earlier. In addition to the phone requests for a repair, my father had personally shown the problem to a department employee and was told the line was scheduled for replacement in "a week or ten days."

Within days, my pleasure turned to outrage when I received a water bill for $52.03 and a sewer charge of $29.30. According to the bill, I had consumed 12,100 gallons from Aug. 19 to Sept. 15. (That is more than 12 times the amount of my bill for Oct. thru Nov.) In the 22 years I have lived in this house, I have never had such a large water bill, even when I was raising three children and doing laundry for a family of five. When I averaged 14 prior bills, my water consumption was approximately 3,000 per month.

A week before the bill was due I requested someone check on the problem and explain how the usage could have been so high for only one person. When I went to pay the bill on Oct. 15, I had not gotten an answer. I again requested an explanation and was told someone would check into it. A week later, I called again only to be told that the bill was correct. No explanation, just an excuse that the old meter taken from my house was now at the barn. I was advised that Utilities Manager Lee Young would be the one I needed to talk to, so I left a message with Barbara to have him call me. I also called the number she gave me for Mr. Young and left a voice mail message asking him to call me. Twice I left messages with Barbara. Twice I left him voice mail. As of Nov. 16, I have not heard a word from him.

I would like to publicly ask Mr. Young to explain to me how this happened and why he didn't return my phone calls.

Susan D. Fann
Piedmont