Birmingham Water Works to hold meeting in Hoover to address customer complaints

The Birmingham Water Works is holding a community meeting in Hoover next week to address a recent surge of customer complaints.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in the banquet room at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Water Works spokesman Rick Jackson said his organization recently became aware that a large number of customers in Hoover had complaints about what they considered to be unusually high water bills and concerns about issues such as meter reading and water main breaks.

Trace Crossings resident Alene Gamel brought the issue to the attention of Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, who then arranged the meeting with the Birmingham Water Works.

Gamel said she had problems with her water bill since moving into her house in Trace Crossings and for months did not have success getting her problem resolved through the telephone customer service offered by the Birmingham Water Works. She also saw that more than 100 people on a neighborhood social network reported problems with their water bills, she said.

After the mayor’s office intervened, three Water Works employees came to her home and have resolved her issue, she said.

But the mayor’s office and Water Works officials also wanted to do something to help other people who have concerns or problems, so they set up the community meeting.

Jackson said the Water Works will have a team of people at Thursday’s meeting to explain the meter reading and billing process, hear concerns and questions from customers and try to resolve people’s problems. Customer service representatives will have their laptops available to look up customers’ accounts and deal with people individually, he said.

The meeting is being held in Hoover due to the volume of complaints in that area, but any Birmingham Water Works customer is welcome, Jackson said. “I think we’re expecting a pretty decent crowd.”