A property owner on the West Bench is calling for an audit of the community’s water billing practices to determine how many ratepayers are receiving special discounts.
Ronald Johnson said he discovered three years ago that some West Bench residents have exemptions to avoid paying the per-acre water charge on non-irrigable parts of their properties, like gullies.
In one case, he discovered a landowner was being billed for just two of 28 acres, and based on his inquiries believes up to 10 such exemptions have been granted since 1996.