Waterford man still mired in troubled waters

New London - Sam Brown says he's learned a valuable civic lesson while dealing with the city and its water department over a disputed water bill.

"I looked to do the right thing," said Brown. "But being good, basically, it's wrong."

Last fall, Brown, who lives in Waterford, received a water bill for $2,499 for a three-family home he owns on Lincoln Avenue in New London. It was a tenfold increase from his normal quarterly bill of $205. Water consumption for three months went from an average of 5,800 cubic feet to 60,000 cubic feet. That's nearly 450,000 gallons of water. Enough water, by Brown's calculations, to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Confident there was human error, Brown paid the bill so he would not incur interest and late fees and the water would not be shut off to his tenants. He appealed to the Water & Water Pollution Control Authority, which concluded that the water meter ran a bit too fast and credited him $37.

Still believing there was a malfunction in the water meter, Brown took the authority to small claims court to try to recoup his money. Last week the city filed a motion to transfer the case to Superior Court. It's a move, Brown alleges, that is designed to stall the case.

"I have a lot of respect for the lawyer trying to do this. He's doing his job,'' said Brown. "But transparently, it looks like they want to drag this out."

It feels like the government is telling him to "sit down and be quiet,'' said Brown, who has owned the Lincoln Avenue property for 18 years and has never had a problem with the water department.

"I feel like they're saying, 'You paid the bill, now be quiet,' " he said.

On March 8, attorneys for the city filed a motion and submitted an affidavit in which City Manager Martin H. Berliner claims, among other things, that Brown lacks jurisdiction over the city utilities department to claim the money. A judge must approve the move. No court date has yet been set.

Brown said he called Berliner about the bill last year and Berliner told him he would look into it and get back to him.

"I guess this is how he got back to me,'' Brown said Tuesday.

Barry Weiner, chairman of the water authority, said he could not talk about the case because it is pending litigation.

"But when all is said and done, we will be upheld,'' he said. "Other than that we have no comment."

Brown has found an ally in State Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who lives in New London and began his political career fighting a lawsuit against a seedy hotel in his neighborhood. Lawyers tried unsuccessfully to transfer that case from small claims to Superior Court, where it could have languished for years, he said, until the neighbors got tired and dropped the suit.

"They're trying to stall it,'' Hewett said of Brown's case. "As a paying customer in the City of New London, he should have his day in court. If no one has anything to hide, why don't they just get this case over with? If he wins, he wins. If he loses, he loses."

Shortly after receiving the high bill, Brown hired a plumber on the advice from the water authority to check all the pipes in the house. No leaks were detected and there were no indications of water dripping from an outside tap. The authority found the meter to be running properly, but 0.5 percent faster than the standard. It adjusted the bill and credited Brown $37.40.

While Brown had kept a healthy sense of humor about the incident, he said he doesn't find it funny anymore.

"This is one experience I never want to go through again,'' he said. "I have things to do in my life and I want to do more than worry about this water bill.

"It's too time-consuming to think about it all the time. If I let it consume me, I'd be an angry person."

k.edgecomb@theday.com