NEW ORLEANS — A Sewerage and Water Board, customers' bills have lacked consistency for quite some time, but in one resident's case it's not the fluctuation that takes the cake. It's the payments coming in and the dates.
Diane Kelly still remembers being in the shower when the water stopped abruptly.
"So I [asked] what's going on? I come outside and there's one of the Sewerage and Water Board employees pulling up the meter," she said.
What seemed strange to her was not only the unannounced repair, but just the same meter had already been replaced less than a year ago in 2018.
She documented what happened, as a Sewerage and Water Board employee worked that day back on Jan. 30. Video she provided shows that the initial employee had a hard time controlling a water pipe from gushing. Crews were later called in and had to dig up Kelly's yard before it stopped.
That same day she filed a complaint and addressed the issue with the Sewerage and Water Board. Personnel told her the meter was defective and backward in an email.
"Upside down? Really? My bills were just perfect it had aligned with everything sent on paper," Kelly exclaimed.
And that brings us to Kelly's next big issue: Her bills online and in paper don't match. Online they go back to the early 1900s.
In addition, Kelly says she has not been sent a bill from last December. It wasn't until she checked online that she saw her balance was something in the $5,000 range.
"There are no leaks," Kelly said as she gave us a tour of all her water faucets.
And there were also payments she saw online that she didn't make, along with multiple billings.
"I think it's six bills on February 8," she said. "Six bills!"
She's been trying to resolve to the matter with the Sewerage and Water Board, but it's been frustrating.
"I fought to have this for everyone to enjoy their property, I inherited this from my mother," she said of her home.
Kelly is a Katrina re-builder and a Navy veteran who served in Iraq. She tells us because of injuries during her service she's on a fixed income, making it hard to pay more than the average $80-a-month bill.
Sewerage and Water Board tells us they've notified the customer service team and will conduct a review, but offered no further insights.
In the meantime, the problems continue.
"I really do feel like a victim, because as soon as it calms down here we go again," she said.