Villages CH2M water department Stealing water from customer!!!
 

EDIT:
I just had a long conversation with Kelly Lam*ert and she is a Nice lady and said it has steered up a lot of discussions and no one in the district had given it any thought of the perspective of what i have brought up.
Its a matter of how it is looked at:

This will ruffle some feathers!!!!
At approximately 3/12/18 8:54 Am i had a representative of CH2M come on the property to check what they had gotten from the Villages Utility Office Kathy Lam$ert office in charge 352-750-0000 a work order saying there was a Dead Irrigation meter on my property due to lack of usage in the last three months.
First off during the winter during Dormant periods of grass growth most of us keep our Irrigation systems off which will cause a lack of Usage.
Mind you a Gentleman from CH2M had the audacity to come onto my property go in my irrigation system and turn on my sprinklers manually without so much as a knock on the door.
Second they have NO AUTHORITY TO DO SO! Not only to come on the property past the Meter Box, but to come on someones property and turn on there meter is breaking the law.
The Work orders generated by the Villages is triggering the CH2M to come out to see if the meter has Flow.
First off the Customer owns 100 percent of the system after the meter including the Nut hooking to the outlet of the meter.
The only way for the meter to be checked for flow is either pull it and replace it with another meter and take the meter in question back to the shop and test it and then put it back in stock.
Obviously this takes to much work to do so, so the tech took the easy way out because of The Villages Kathy Lam$ert allowed practice which was clearly admitted by her!!!
Even cracking the outlet of the meter to see if the Meter is registering flow is wasting water that is billed to the customer and is Stealing and breaking the law technically.
I would of had NO PROBLEM if the technician came to the door and ask to check the meter and either having me turn on my system or asking me if he could manually turn on a valve at the Pink Valve box on the side of my property.
Instead the tech took the liberty in turning on my system to see if the meter was working.
When i questioned what in God's name is he doing and if This is a normal practice, he replied yes.
When i called the Villages and spoke to Kathy Lam$bert 352-750-000 in charge of submitting work orders given to a sub company Ch2M that services the water department to fix our water system if this was NORMAL Policy she Replied "YES"
I stated how would you feel if someone came on your property an turned on your system:
REPLY:
"If someone turned on my electric without me knowing i would have a problem but not my irrigation system because i am in this possession and it is a Normal practice."
FYI folks they have No right to do this and its Stealing from every homeowner in the villages that has this DONE by a work order generated by the Villages for a non used system "dead Meter".
The Villages has no right on your property and furthermore wasting your water by turning on the system without your permission PERIOD.
No matter if it was a few cents in water or a few dollars they are BREAKING THE LAW!!!
The normal practice is to change the meter out if the homeowner is objectionible to turning on there system.
The real motivation is the Villages is worried about lost revenue or People that are stealing utility's!
I am outraged!!!
It was brought to my attention by "Director Of CH2M"John Bo*man that some technicians had 74 work orders today for dead meter's to be checked
That is 9.25 an hour or one every 6.5 minutes which is impossible for a tech to complete in one day or even 2 days.
I was also informed that the villages has a new system and this has caused these work orders.
I was guarantied by this individual that tomorrow they will inform all there tech's of a new practice and this is wrong 100% and he was unaware of the tech's doing this.
However he is Directed by the Villages in the Practice that they are to abide by because they are the customer for Ch2M.
I am outraged in this behavior by the villages and furthermore they had a 10% surcharge last year due to the drought but they have No problem wasting our water we pay for!
Lets see how many of you folks get outrage with this.
Also Don't Misunderstand i am very pro-Morse for what they have done for this area, but it is clear they have dropped the ball on this one.
Sounds like CYA to me.

No outrage here. There are way worse things in the world to be outraged about. I don't even have a single ruffled feather.

understood but they take to much control over this area and to have this practice is crossing the line

Maybe a "go fund me" account could be started to cover the water that was wasted....................

i hope you understand it is the principal of the matter not the water that was used.
Next they will be entering your garage and turn on your system without your permission.
As soon as golf clubs come up missing then people will be Outraged. L.O.L

I'm just guessing but maybe they do this checking because believe it or not a very small number of people steal utilities and this is a quick way for them to check. You don't steal the water so don't get upset about a little thing like that.

Did you tell him to get off you property? Call the police and report trespassing.

I would never think to be outraged. If I saw the truck and the guy had on his uniform, I would think he was there to see if the meter was working properly. I guess it is where you grow up.

I am not a dummy. If the guy was suspicious in any way I would call L.E.O.s.

I understand turning off irrigation in the summer months where it rains practically everyday but not during the winter with Augustine grass. You should be making sure your grass gets a good 1 inch soaking a week during the winter months.

I think people fear what they don't understand sometimes.

This is an old thread about the smart meters that newer homes have that can be read from the street.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ht=water+meter

Gracie you are correct it is where you grow up.
In New York you have thieves dressed up in Utility workers outfits and badges that look the same as the real ones trying to gain access into peoples homes to rip them off.
I just had a long conversation with Kelly Lam*ert and she is a Nice lady and said it has steered up a lot of discussions and no one in the district had given it any thought of the perspective of what i have brought up.
Just FYI!!

Agree. Sorry you’re so upset but this sounds like standard practice. If they happened to find your meter is broken and charging for water you’re NOT using, wouldn’t you want to know? I don’t think they are wasting your water. If they had to wait to contact every homeowner to get permission and provide a full explanation, they’d waste a lot of time. Time is money. In the end we’d all pay for what amounts to unnecessary dialogue.

I hope this thread will give you peace of mind.

They were at my place twice over the last year. 1st time they knocked 2nd time I wasn't home but drove up while they were here. BOTH TIMES was because I was using TOO MUCH water (compared to previous months use) so they wanted to make sure there was no leak or broken pipes. I guess there is good and bad sides to everything.

I wouldn't be surprised if SOMEWHERE in SOMETHING we signed when buying allowed this.

I understand your point.
But what happens if they force your system on in the solenoid box and break something or not shut fully off the valve 100% and you are back home in another home for a few months and you get a 1000.00 bill, then how would you feel.
I guess it is how you look at things.
There is a lot of bad contractors and utility works that either are improperly trained or idiots and not even aware they have damaged something.
I would rather be made aware and control my own system.
A text, email etc.. to make me aware would be fine and not cost anything and could be computer generated when the work order is generated.
That way if the customer wants to be there ok, if not so be it. At least we have a choice.

I am sorry you were so upset.

I hope things are sorted out so you won't worry.

Thanks Gracie for the Kind words.
Some times you have to stand back and take a breath which i should of done.
The Gal Kelly Lam*ert is such a nice lady and on her game and we discussed a lot of options that could rectify the problem but on every one she brought up other points that were genuine concerns and wasn't going to work for a number of reasons which where justified.
She has a challenging Job to say the Least.
I guess the bottom line is if the Ch2m worker handled it differently and didn't have a smug attitude all this would of been a MOOT issue.
As always Gracie thank you for the Kind words!!!

OP, I understand your concern when suddenly your irrigation system comes on when you know for sure it is turned off in your garage. I would get up from my easy chair and take my cup of coffee to the front yard to see what the hell was going on. After finding out, I would honestly go back in the house and refill my coffee cup and get on with reading my Daily Sun. Now, that is just me. Life is, IMHO, too short to get outraged over the situation you describe. I’m not judging because I know a number of folks that would respond differently and that is okay. My father, God rest his soul, would be all over the situation like “dirty on a shirt”. Again, I’m not judging, just a difference in personalities.

My feathers are in fine form, far from ruffled.

What to do
 

Village Chicken, “As you get older, the questions really come down to about two. How long? And what do I do with the time I have left?” Don’t know who said that but truer words were probably never spoken. :beer3:

I'm trying to picture what he did. My irrigation controller is inside the garage on the back wall. Are your controls outside the garage? or can he bypass the controller and manually turn on the system without the controller? What if you owned a CYV and the backyard is not visible, and he turned on the system while you were painting the villa, or painting yard furniture, or were working in the garden and you got hit with dose of irrigation water.

I ask this, because I've had my system turned off on our CYV for about 4 months. We don't have any grass and the plants I water by hand about once a week. I'm wondering if they'll think I have a dead meter. I certainly don't want a stranger in my garage, that's why I have the garage door horizontal screen, to keep out critters and unwanted 2 legged critters.

They came to my PINK irrigation box on the side of my home and you can turn the solenoid counter-clockwise manually and that will allow the valve to turn on.
The point is they have no right to do this no matter what reason without asking the homeowner first and it is a standard practice!

The irrigation system can also be controlled manually from outdoors.

How do I manually open a valve? | Hunter Industries

This past summer, after I had kept my sprinklers off for 3 months (mother nature was providing plenty of water), they also showed up at our house to check the system. The guy told me he does this all day long because they worry they may be loosing some money. He also said that it is almost always because the owner has turned off the system, but hey, they pay me (and his helper) to do it.

Did they go on your property to your Pink sprinkler box and manually turn on your sprinklers without asking your permission.
That is the question that is troubling, next they will be going in your garage to turn on your system.
This should NOT happen without the homeowners permission!

Seems to me that you are more bothered by the fact that nobody shares your outrage than about the event itself.

NO young lady that is not my point.
My point is they took the liberty to come on the property without asking and also took the liberty of turning on my system without asking.
My property is owned by me and NOT the Villages or CH2M.
FYI the practice is changing as we speak in a CH2M morning meeting

That is easy to address - just keep your garage door closed.

Thanks for the recommendation i would of never thought of that. L.O.L.
Just Kidding. L.O.L

Yes, they did not come to the door. I just happened to notice them.

Well in NY they would never take that liberty and would contact the homeowner well in advance for a appointment to service any utility issues.
I guess people here like to be looked after by the Villages no matter if they are reaching over thier boundary's.
Like Gracie said its a matter of where you come from and what your used too.
I like my privacy and do not like The Villages acting like they still own the property i paid for and control.
Just personal Preference.
Again I am pro-Morse for what they have created here but there needs to be Boundary's . There are to many bad employees in all walks of life including Police departments in Florida.
just FYI

Far as i can tell
 

Your issue is workmen entering YOUR PROPERTY without YOUR AUTHORIZATION. I TOO OBJECT TO THAT.

I expect if you check your agreement that we all sign without reading, somewhere it says they have the right to do this. As to the meters, when they fail the error is usually in favor of the customer. So, if they have replaced the meter your bill will probably go up.

You stated that you do not run your irrigation in the winter.
I DO NOT EITHER.

AS TO THIEF OF WATER YOU PAY FOR. If, you check, you are still paying a minimum charge even though you are not using any irrigation water. So there is not additional COST to you. The water YOU/WE use to water our lawns is THOUSANDS OF GALLONS. Had they wasted anywhere near that amount by your meter-YOU WOULD KNOW IT.

As you said they have the right to the meter in an easement only.
As for reading All the documentation thoroughly and NO WHERE did i give them permission other then the Easements.
To come on your property up to the side of the outside garage (NOT A EASEMENT) and open your Solenoid box and manually turning on your sprinkler system is crossing the line without asking period!
This practice No long is approved.
Thank You for your opinion.
P.S. its not about the water they use to check the meter its about principal of them taking the Liberty without so much as a knock on the door and asking permission.
Also there is a question of not turning the valve off all the way and having continuous loss of water or damage that they may unknowingly cause, Just FYI

The only people coming one your property without first coming to the door are meter readers. Anybody else is trespassing. IMO You don't go on private property without first going to the door and knocking.

Agreed and i am sure people understand now what I am upset about.
A simple knock on the door would of solved a lot of problems and i would of been more than happy to turn on the system for him to check the meter flow.

I don't have a dog in this fight because I live in Stonecrest. However under our Covenants the Association does have some rights to inspect your property. Not sure how the Village Documents are worded. When you move into these communities you do give up some of your property control rights. On my irrigation system there is a valve that can be turned and a lock placed to keep the system shut off. This valve is where the back flow regulator is located.

As for stealing services you'll enjoy this story. When I moved here in 2004 there was a house being built next door to mine. The carpenters arrived one day and needed power to run their saws. As I was standing there I noticed one of them walking over to my property with and extension cord. He looked at my house and found one of the outside receptacles and plugged in the cord, and then plugged in his saw. I was about to get extremely angry and then decided to have some fun instead. (I would have allowed him to use my electricity if he asked). Just as he started to use the saw, I walked into the garage and shut off the breaker to that outside receptacle. I could hear the saw wind down, and I could hear him flip the switch on the saw back and forth. He then started to walk back to my house, checked the plug, and then stared to look for a new place to plug in (I have several outside). He then took the cord and plugged into another receptacle on my house. Walked back and started his saw. Just as the saw got up to speed, I shutoff that breaker. (This was so much fun, I don't get mad, I get even). After the third attempt he gave up. The next day they arrived on sight with a generator........

Thanks for the story that is funny.l.o.l
I am not sure what you may have signed but the state and federal law preempts anything you may have signed.
They can lock out meters or turn off service if theft or non payment is found but here in the villages the meters are usually in the easements at the street in a ground level utility box.
This knuckle head walked 50 feet into my property opened up the solenoid box that i clearly own and decided to run the sprinkler system to see the flow of the meter without as much as a knock on the door.
Technically i could of had him trespassed off the property and charged with theft of services but probably wouldn't hold up in court.
The problem is the practice and not using there head and improperly trained employees.
I was assured this practice will no longer take place period.

I agree!!

I'd be upset also. For one thing I don't like manually opening those valves. I had a contractor service the irrigation system one time and after they played with those valves two of them started to leak. I've been here since 2004 and I've seen this attitude before. They just do with out asking. The neighbor had a landscaping company doing some work and they were using a small backhoe to put in a small tree. The guy drove right over my sprinkler heads on my lawn. I was not very pleasant that day. I wonder what would have happened if something went wrong with your valves when they manually opened them? I'm pretty easy, just ask first.

My exact point.
Lots of knuckleheads in the Villages!

I'd put a couple of these in the valve box:
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