Love them or hate them, Smart Meters are being installed city-wide.

Since installation began nearly three years ago, we’ve received a fair share of complaints from FOX SA viewers about sudden leaks after the new tech was put in.

In tonight’s Problem Solver report, our Darian Trotter took those concerns to the San Antonio Water System.

Two different customers. Two different homes.

Both in the same neighborhood. With the same problem.

“The city came installed new water meters, and when they did that, they disturbed the lines,” said Maribel Biascoechea.

Jeff and Maribel have water leaks.

“We had no leaks till they came and dug these trenches,” said Jeff Vasquez.

Biascoechea said, “You know, like every time they mess with the streets, we pay the price.”

Leaks they say seemingly came out of nowhere, for them and several of their neighbors. They say it all happened after crews with San Antonio Water System installed new smart meters, or dug up the street to complete other work near their homes.

“A day later, my pipe broke,” Biascoechea said. “So I called them, and they said, no that’s your problem because it’s not by the meter, you know and that was that.”

Vasquez said, “If they hadn’t come and tampered with the ground as the vibrations that wouldn’t have caused it.”

SAWS started city-wide installation of their new Connect H20 Smart Water Meters in the middle of 2022.

The upside is they provide hourly, more accurate readings of water use for better water management.

The downside, according to customers reaching out to FOX SA’s Problem Solver, they could result in higher water bills.

And in a growing number of cases, they could cause sudden water leaks.

“I want for them to come and fix it,” said Vasquez.

Smart Meters were installed in this northeast side neighborhood in December of 2024.

Jeff says he once worked in the plumbing industry. He believes his initial problems were caused during the installation.

“I know that when they have to put the new meter on, that they’re going to disturb the old pipe by connecting the new pipe on there,” Vasquez said. “They’re going to disturb the old pipe by twisting even a little twist, any part of the pipe can cause damage.”

Nine months later, crews contracted by SAWS came back and used heavy equipment to dig trenches in the street to start a pipe replacement project.

Jeff believes disruptive banging caused foundation issues that lead to the leak under his home.

“Every time they hit with that scoop, the scoop of the bucket, the walls would tremble, and some of my pictures would fall off the wall,” said Vasquez.

Jeff and Maribel represent other FOX SA viewers we’ve heard from over the years, complaining about leaks at their homes, they believe were caused by saws in one way or another.

We took their concerns to saws.

A spokeswoman for the utility company says leaks are possible, and there’s a plan in place to address any leaks they cause.

Here’s what we found out.

If a leak is determined to have been caused by the installation of a new electronic meter, SAWS will not only cover the cost of repairs, the customer’s bill will also be adjusted.

But the leak must have occurred within 60-days of the new install and within 12 inches of the Smart Meter

Maribel’s first leak was near her home, so she paid out of pocket to fix it.

But she says a second leak near the meter started soon after crews dug up the street.

“A couple of weeks later, my meter went,” Biascoechea said. “Now they’re telling me, yes, by the meter but it’s still your fault. Y’all put that new meter in. We didn’t.”

Jeff is living on a fixed income and can’t afford to repair his leak. Which is nowhere near the meter.

“I mean it’s in my property, but we never had that problem before, till they came and dug these holes, dug trenches and disturbed the foundations of our houses,” Vasquez said. “Because our pictures were falling off. That’s how bad it was.”

Jeff’s leak is so bad it floods his front lawn.

To avoid a high bill, he keeps his water off and only turns it on manually to fill buckets of water needed to cook and bathe. Then he immediately turns it off.

“Otherwise, I’d have a big’ol pile,” said Vasquez. “In ten minutes, I’ll have a pile of water.”

SAWS is on track to install more than 600,000 Smart Meters city-wide by the end of the year.

The company says data indicates less than a quarter of those installations may result in a leak. Usually due to aging pipes.

SAWS has policies to minimize any negative impact.

These two argue otherwise.

“They cleaned their hands, you know,” Biascoechea said. ” And it’s not right, because I’ve been living here for years. Never had no problem. And now this comes out until they started digging in the streets.”

Vasquez said, “Because it’s not right. I mean, there’s a right way of doing things and a wrong way. They know what’s right and what’s wrong. I feel that they should step up to do it and correct it.”

FOX SA asked about the leak under Jeff’s home. We’re told he’d need to file a claim with the company contracted by SAWS.

The utility company required its contractors carry liability insurance.

On another note, if you have a high water bill due to leak, SAWS has options to help reduce your bill.

And there are plans available to help customers struggling to pay their water bills in general.

Investigative Problem Solver Darian Trotter dug deeper and found out of 550,000 smart meters installed, SAWS has had to make more than 1,900 repairs for leaks caused during the installation process.

He also found out saws no longer outsources the work to subcontractors.

Smart Meters are now installed by in-house by SAWS. A spokeswoman explained they do a better job and faster.

The utility company is on track to finish installation ahead of schedule.