KC church billed thousands for water it says it didn’t use. Now its pantry is struggling

Ron Carter has been a member of Linwood United Church in Kansas City for 36 years. In all his time as treasurer, he has never seen water bills like the nearly $2,000 the church owed KC Water in January, or the over $1,800 it owes now.

In a typical month, the building on Olive Street uses around 18,000 gallons of water. But its November bill was based on a water usage reading of just under 55,000 gallons. In December, it was around 29,600 gallons. These two bills added up to a total of $1,950.39, according to documents reviewed by The Star.

Carter oversees the church’s budget as well as other programming — including its food pantry, free clothing closet, pop-up health clinic, several addiction support groups, sewing ministry, hot meal service and worship space for several congregations.

He said the expensive, multi-month saga of attempting to correct the abnormally high water bills has put the church’s food pantry in jeopardy at a time when they’re seeing more clients in need than past years.

Other KC Water customers also wrote to The Star about running into challenges correcting high water bills after we reported on one family getting a $12,400 bill.

What if there’s not a leak?

Upon calling KC Water, Carter said he was told that there must be a leak on the property and was advised to contact a leak specialist. He did, at the church’s expense, and received a report saying there were no leaks in the building.

“Since a constant leak issue has been ruled out from the testing performed, the most likely culprits are extreme inconsistent usage by a fixture or appliance or incorrect meter readings,” read the report from the local leak specialists at American Leak Detection, reviewed by The Star.

But despite having a report ruling out a leak, Carter says KC Water refused to adjust his bill.

“They seem to always want to insist that there has to be a leak somewhere,” Carter said. “We paid out of our pocket to prove there’s no leak. Why would you tell me to do that if you’re not going to adjust the bill anyway?”

The Star heard from three other KC Water customers with similar experiences. Waldo resident Mike Smith said he was charged nearly $500 for a bill saying he used 30,000 gallons of water in December. His online KC Water account often showed water usage of 37 gallons per hour — even in the middle of the night and during the workday.

“They were adamant that it was a leaking toilet,” Smith said. “I’m like, guys, this is just not possible. This logically does not make sense.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s water use calculator, a toilet would have to be flushed 12 times per hour, or once every five minutes, to use 36 gallons of water — less than what Smith’s account showed him using.

Smith added that he and three other professionals, including a plumber, checked his home thoroughly and found no leaks. His bill still hasn’t been adjusted.

Heather Frierson, a spokesperson for KC Water, declined to comment on his or the church’s situation, stating that the department is unable to speak about individual customers’ accounts.

No choice but to pay

Carter of Linwood United Church told The Star that after numerous phone calls, KC Water eventually sent a technician to the building in January. The technician replaced the church’s meter reader, a device which transmits water usage data to the company, but insisted that the meter itself was functioning normally.

Soon afterwards, with shut-off notices piling up, Carter made a $2,000 payment to keep water running in the building. But when January’s water bill arrived on Feb. 1, it was clear the problem hadn’t been resolved: The church was being billed for over 87,000 gallons of water. It now owes KC Water another $1,838.

“They showed usage of over 76,000 gallons during January 1st and 2nd when the church was basically empty,” Carter told The Star. “It was a holiday weekend… and we only have 20 people in our congregation on a Sunday.”

Despite continuing to call KC Water about his predicament, Carter says the department has refused to let him speak to a supervisor and has continued to insist that a leak in the building is to blame.

KC Water did not respond to The Star’s questions about its policy on allowing customers to speak with supervisors or its consideration of third-party leak detection reports.

If the sky-high bills continue, Carter added that the church’s food pantry may be unable to buy necessities like meat, eggs and other staples for its clients.

“We would have to dip into our reserves to keep things going,” he said. “We have gone from serving, this time last year it was maybe 75 families a week. Now we’re averaging 110 families a week.”

Carter says he dreads having to ask his congregation for donations to help pay the church’s water bill just so the food pantry and other programs can survive.

“Not everybody is doing as well as the country thinks,” he said. “I don’t ever want to have to do that.”

Recourse options for high bills

Carter filed a complaint with the Missouri Public Service Commission about his case before contacting The Star on Feb. 4. But KC Water is a branch of Kansas City’s municipal government. That means it isn’t regulated by the commission, which oversees privately-owned utilities in the state like Spire and Evergy.

Nevertheless, a records request made by The Star found that Carter isn’t alone in seeking accountability: The commission has been contacted 22 times about KC Water in the past year.

KC Water is regulated by city codes and ordinances that govern its operations. But when customers encounter problems, they have no other recourse but to contact the department itself for help.

“We encourage customers with billing issues to contact KC Water so that we can work out any problems with the customer,” Frierson said. KC Water’s customer service number is 816-513-1313, option one. Frierson added that customers can submit billing adjustment requests here.

The lack of regulatory oversight has caused customers like Mike Smith in Waldo to feel helpless in the face of high bills.

“There hasn’t been any accountability, unfortunately, from the water company,” Smith told The Star. “I called them several times and got ten different answers.”

Do you have more questions about utilities in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.