Asheville Reporter

Asheville residents have been questioning the tardiness of their water bills recently. The delay is due to the city's existing water meters nearing the end of their battery life, which has halted remote transmission of usage data. As a result, crews from the Water Resources Department are now required to manually read these meters, a process that is more time-consuming than remote readings.

The Department is actively addressing this issue by hiring temporary staff and engaging an outside contractor to expedite manual meter readings. "The Department is dedicating every available resource to this effort," said a representative.

However, it may take some time before billing cycles return to normal. The most significant factor in resolving this issue will be the progression of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project. This project involves installing new meters in each of the system’s approximately 63,000 water connections. Scheduled for substantial completion in 2025, this project will gradually clear the billing backlog as new meters become operational. The private contractor handling this task is currently installing around 900 new meters per week.

Water Resources acknowledges the inconvenience caused by disruptions in regular billing schedules and assures customers that both physical and electronic bills are still being sent out daily. Some may arrive later than usual and may cover longer or shorter billing cycles than the typical two months. However, customers can rest assured that their bill will accurately reflect their water consumption for the listed usage dates.

Despite these changes, customers will continue to have 20 days from the billing date to make payment. Payment plans remain available for those who need them if their bill for an adjusted period significantly exceeds what they had budgeted.

For further information or inquiries about this matter, customers are advised to contact the Water Resources Department Customer Service Center at (828) 251-1122.