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HARLINGEN — Ahead of a steady stream of customers, Anali Gomez was standing in line to pay her water bill Wednesday, worried the Harlingen WaterWorks System would cut off her utilities if her payment was late.
But like many residents, she didn’t know WaterWorks interim General Manager David Sanchez had called for a moratorium on utility disconnections as officials try to fix a new online billing system while dealing with an overloaded telephone network.
For three days, she was trying to pay her utility bill through the agency’s new online billing system, Gomez, a student at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, said as she stood in line inside WaterWorks’ lobby.
“I don’t know if it’s because they’ve got a new system,” she said, referring to her problems making an online payment. “I thought the water was going to get cut off so I came here to pay my bill.”
Last week, Sanchez called for the moratorium after some customers complained their utilities were being disconnected, even after they paid their bills.
“I issued the moratorium due to the data errors we were seeing coming from the new software system,” Sanchez said in a statement. “To avoid further confusion and inflaming the issue even further, the moratorium was issued. We also didn’t want to be disconnecting customers based of incorrect information, especially if they have paid.”
On Wednesday, Mayor Norma Sepulveda called utility disconnections “unacceptable.”
“HWWS has made significant efforts to ensure no one experiences disconnections due to billing issues, but I understand that some residents may have been affected,” she said in a statement. “Even one person being disconnected is unacceptable. Harlingen WaterWorks continues to face challenges with their billing software and they remain committed to being transparent about the issues and working closely with Harlingen residents.”
During an April 26, 2023, meeting, WaterWorks officials were planning to purchase the new software system from Continental Utility Solutions in Jonesboro, Arkansas — before former General Manager Tim Skoglund left office in May.
“We were dealing with an old system that was antiquated, and (the system’s software provider) stopped supporting it,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he didn’t have the cost of the new system readily available.
“We’re already seeing a decline in the errors,” Sanchez said. “We are working with our new software company to correct the issues. It is hard to say exactly when all the issues will be resolved but we are making headway, and we will work diligently until this issue is resolved.”
After launching the new online billing system Sept. 9, customers’ complaints started coming in.
”We are seeing issues such as wrong account balances, wrong addresses, disconnection notices being sent out when customers paid, customers with difficulties having to register on the new software system,” Sanchez said.
Fielding more than 600 calls a day, complaints overloaded WaterWorks’ phone system.
“It was the perfect storm,” Sanchez said. “The phone system became overwhelmed and dropped calls, something we were not aware of.”
Now, officials are planning to buy a new phone system.
“The new system is being purchased that will allow for a call-back,” Sanchez said.
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