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Prepaid water meters set up
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2005-01-24 09:37 More than 400 families in
Jiading District will have to pay for water before they use it as a special
water meter has been installed in their homes to guard against water
theft.
The meter will set a quota based on their payments. Supply will be
cut when consumption reaches the limit.
"It's like the prepaid card for
mobile phone service: you have to deposit some money before you enjoy the
service," said Zhu Mingtao, director of the business service division of the
Jiading District Waterworks Co.
The 420 meters are installed in a newly
finished residential area in Taichenyayuan Residential Complex on Shunzhu Road,
Jiading District.
The meter itself is no different from ordinary ones in
appearance and installation. But it has a special digital box with a keyboard
attached to it. Users first have to pay their bill in advance, and then type
their passwords and a fixed account number into the keyboard to resume water
supply.
"In this way, it will be impossible to slow down the meter for
water theft. It can also save our customers' time and unnecessary losses when
paying the water bill," Zhu added.
Families can choose to pay in advance
for months or even a whole year by depositing estimated fees in their account
instead of paying every two months, and don't have to line up at the utility fee
paying desks. They can get their bill within the community or simply make a call
to have it delivered to their home.
The deposit will also free them from
the risk of being charged extra for late payment of bills.
The automatic
supply cut will further prevent them from paying the bills caused by water
leaking within their homes, especially the toilet, which could be huge if they
are absent for months.
In one recent case, an old woman in the district
came back home to find more than 2,000 yuan (US$241) in unpaid water bills after
living with her son in downtown Shanghai for one year. More than 2,000 cubic
meters of water had leaked from her toilet.
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