Board blames two faulty meters for Dona Ana woman’s high water bill

The Dona Ana County Mutual Domestic Water Association board heard a complaint from Teri Trujillo about her mother’s extremely high water bills. Her bill went from $30 a month to $500, according to a story reported last week only on ABC-7.

Tuesday, board members heard that after Trujillo hired someone to check for leaks, none were found. The board’s only explanation, two faulty meters must be the reason for her high water bills.

Board president Jim Melton told her while they changed Trujillo’s meter it continues to show high water use. He said there needs to be accountability for that water. The board came to the conclusion that two faulty meters must be the reason. They agreed to install a third meter on the property immediately which they’ll monitor for the next two weeks.

“I haven’t used that water that you guys are claiming that I use. I have not used that water,” Trujillo’s mother Mary said. “I don’t have no trees to water. I don’t have no grass to water.”

“The best we can do for you is that we can put another meter in there and we can watch it a little more closely to see if in fact this phenomenon continues to manifest itself,” Melton said.

In the mean time Mary agreed to pay a nominal payment on her bill pending the outcome of the meter being monitored.