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Faulty water meters lead to high bills for DeKalb residents

DeKalb County residents protest high water bills outside the county government center on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. From left: Hope Lusignan, Anita Connor, Judy Knight and Commissioner Nancy Jester hold signs calling for the county government to fix the problem. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM
DeKalb County residents protest high water bills outside the county government center on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. From left: Hope Lusignan, Anita Connor, Judy Knight and Commissioner Nancy Jester hold signs calling for the county government to fix the problem. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
Oct 12, 2016

DeKalb County is calling off the installation of new water meters because many of them are malfunctioning, resulting in high water bills for residents.

These so-called "smart meters" can break when rainwater or other moisture gets in.

Already, about 2,200 of the meters have been replaced.

The DeKalb Commission voted 5-0 on Tuesday to suspend installation of the meters and to grant the county's finance director greater flexibilty to reduce inexplicable charges.

ExplorePlease read the full story on MyAJC.com.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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