Unusually High Water Bill Surfaces

San Angelo's City Council heard from Councilman Johnny Silvas before diving into the agenda.  Silvas asked the public to look at their water bill and call if any discrepancies arise.  He shared the situation of a man getting a bill for 65,000 gallons, when his historic usage had been 5,000 to 8,000 gallons per month.  Councilman Silvas asked if city staff monitored that kind of thing.

City Manager Pro Tem Michael Dane said "There is a process for that. I'll be glad to follow up with you sometime on that."  Here's how Dane et al sold the electronic water meters to the public years ago:

The daily readings include the amount of water used each hour during the previous day, which will assist the City and residents in researching unusual water usage patterns that may result from leaks or malfunctioning sprinkler systems. 

There was no mention of the type of water meter at this gentleman's home, but strange readings have been a feature of the new meters. 

If the city has access to daily readings and they begin to go off the chart, how much water could be saved by the city being proactive and informing the citizen?  One might expect this from a proactive water department. 

Rather than follow up with Councilman Silvas Dane should inform the public as to how staff is identifying unusual water usage patterns, informing citizens and reducing wasted water or inaccurate water bills.  That would actually be proactive.