In Flimflam, Calif. (definitely not a real city), officials thought they were being smart by installing high-tech water meters to keep the city hydrated. Instead, they got a hilarious surprise – turns out, the meters weren’t so smart after all.
According to sources (who may or may not be completely made up), the meters malfunctioned almost immediately, wildly overestimating water usage and leading to some very confused residents. “I swear, I didn’t shower for three weeks straight, and it said I used 500 gallons of water!” complained local plumber Bob Johnson (also not a real person).
Even more amusingly, some residents found that the meters were apparently counting water usage even when they weren’t using any water at all. “I went on vacation for a month and came back to a bill for 10,000 gallons of water. They think I was running a water park or something!” chuckled retiree Ethel Smith (made up name #2).
Other residents reported the meters misreading water usage by a factor of ten or more. “It said I used 20 gallons of water to wash my hands. I literally couldn’t make that much water fit in the sink,” groaned stay-at-home mom Sarah Thompson (you guessed it, not a real person).
Although city officials have promised to fix the malfunctioning meters, residents aren’t holding their breath. “I think they should just hire a team of clowns to come in and read our water meters – it couldn’t be any less accurate,” quipped local comedian Jim Franklin (fake name #4).
