El Paso business frustrated over nearly $11K water bill

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — A El Paso health center says it is being overcharged by El Paso Water, sharing documentation with KTSM that reveals thousands of dollars in charges from one month to the next.

El Paso Water bills given to KTSM from Mt. West Family Health Center, at 6151 Dew Dr. in West El Paso, show the company was charged $8,244.58 in May. This amount is in stark contrast from what the business had been paying prior, which was only $11.38 in April.

“As I was entering it, that’s when I realized I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ Right away, that was a red flag, because I handle all the accounts for all of our different locations,” said Vanessa Oliveria, assistant to the CEO.

Dr. Victor Villalobos is a family physician with three other locations across El Paso. Oliveira, who handles the accounts, said even after combining the other locations’ water bills, that would not come close to what they are paying for the Westside office alone.

As of Oct. 15., the bill stands at $10,645.32 for the Westside location. After enlisting the help of an attorney, EPWater offered the business a 50% credit adjustment but they would have to agree to it by Wednesday, Oct. 16 for the adjustment to be valid.

In the letter sent by EPWater to the health center’s attorney, it says:

“It was discussed that the EPWater investigation of your client’s account revealed no fault on EPWater’s side, and the only potential basis would be on your client’s side to include the following findings:

1. No misreading on the water meter documented by EPWater field workers;

2. No leaks found on your client’s property; and

3. No problem with the water meter on your client’s.”

In that same letter, EPWater says an inspector noted that the sprinklers were discharging a large amount of water that seemed excessive. This is something Oliveira said did not make sense and did not justify the thousands of dollars in charges.

“I mean, that’s impossible there. We would have seen the water. That’s a lot of water. We would see it,” said Oliveira.

Despite EPWater saying there were no problems with the center’s meter, the water utility replaced it with a new one. After this exchange, the water bill for July to August was $24.94, and August to September was $32.48.

KTSM reached out to EPWater for a response. However, we were told they could not comment on an individual customer’s account.

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