我幸运避免了巨额水费账单

在严寒的冬季水管会有爆裂的风险。当我浴室的水龙头在最寒冷的1月被冻住时，我非常担心水管爆裂会导致水漫金山。毋庸置疑，还有许多多伦多居民也和我一样存在类似的担忧。但是来自多伦多水务局的一条建议似乎可以平息我的忧虑：打开水龙头保持细水长流状态可以有效防止水管冻结。

Water pipes face a risk of bursting during extremely cold winter conditions. When the water tap in a bathroom of my house stop releasing water in the coldest month of January, I became worried about a water pipe burst that might flood my house. Unsurprisingly, I was just one of the many Toronto residents who faced a similar concern. But a piece of advice from Toronto Water seemed to quell my anxiety: keeping a pencil-thin stream of water running at all times pays off in the long run by preventing pipes from freezing.

但是这种做法会让人担心水费高涨。然而据向多伦多居民提出相关建议的多伦多水务局总经理格罗尼默称，这种方法花费并不多。Geronimo告诉《环球邮报》，水费很便宜，让水龙头保持细流状态每周只需花费$10元钱。

But water costs were a big concern. However, according to Toronto Water general manager Lou Di Geronimo -- who gave out the tips to Toronto residents, this method won’t cost much. Geronimo told the Globe that water is cheap, and that keeping a tap running at a pencil-sized volume for a week would cost only $10.

这主意听起来真不错，只需花费一顿麦当劳都不到的钱就可以防患于未然！但我仍犹豫不决是否该遵循这一建议行事。事实上，多伦多水务局估计的水费远低于实际收取水费。因为即便只是娟娟细流，自来水的流量也会很可观。据《环球邮报》的试验显示，按照这种方法，每天白白流淌掉的水量高达4000公升，因此每周需耗费多达$100元的水费，比市政估计的费用高出十倍。

Sounds like a great idea –nib problem in the bud for less than a meal at McDonalds! But I hesitated to follow this advice. In fact, the estimated cost given by Toronto Water was nowhere near reality. Water runs fast even if the stream is pencil thin. The amount of water leaked this way reaches as high as 4000 liters a day, as tested by a Globe and Mail experiment. And it would cost as high as $100 for a week, ten times of the estimation given by the city. 

据《环球邮报》称，更令人震惊的是，市政拒绝免掉居民因保持水龙头细水长流而招致的巨额水费账单。

More shockingly, the city refuses to write off the excessive costs faced by residents who left their water tap running, according to the Globe.

身为本报记者，我曾多次收到读者面连巨额水费账单的惨痛经历。但是在出现水费纠纷时，市府从未将消费者的利益放在第一位，而是常常让消费者陷入无法解决的争端。

As a reporter of this paper, I’ve heard frustrating stories from readers receiving excessive water bills. But when disputes arise, the city never puts consumers’ interest first and often leaves consumers with unresolved complaints.

《大中报》曾报道过兰女士收到巨额水费账单的遭遇。在2013年12月，兰女士突然收到一份高达$1万元的水费账单，这远远高于其之前通常只有$670元的水费账单。兰女士认为账单上的巨大差异是账单出错造成的。

Chinese News reported Ms. Lam’s water bill shock. In Dec. 2013, Lam received a water bill of $10,000 -- much higher than her regular bill of $670. Lam believed that the huge disparity was caused by a billing error.

但是兰女士与市府的争辩却遭遇巨大阻碍。水务部门在经过调查后告诉兰女士，导致她水费单狂飙的原因是因为漏水，因此她必须负责支付全部账单。不幸的是，兰女士对此解释并不满意，而她与市府有关部门安排的会面也没有如期进行。

But Lam’s dispute with the city hit a stone wall. The water department, after conducting an investigation, told her that it was caused by a water leak, and that she had to be responsible for the entire bill. Unfortunately Ms. Lam wasn’t satisfied with the explanation and an arranged meeting with the city did not go as planned.

据一名（曾在多伦多水务局工作的）匿名内部人士称，有些超高读表并不准确，有时是因为水管中的气泡，或是破旧的水表经历水压波动而造成的。但是，水务部门却无法确定导致超高读表的真正原因。

According to an anonymous insider(who used to work in the Toronto Water), some of the excessive high meter readings were inaccurate, as a result of bubbles in the water pipe or pressure fluctuations in worn out meters. However, the water department lacked the capacity to detect the real cause of the excessive reading.

此外，无论是提出投诉还是上法庭打官司，无法摆脱市府的各种繁文缛节的消费者往往都以落败告终。据业内人士称，有些情况下，尽管无辜的消费者不应该为错误读表而导致的巨额水费账单买单，但市府却会以“偶尔漏水”为由驳回消费者的投诉，并迫使消费者承担巨额水费。

The red tape would always put consumers at the losing end of the dispute, regardless of a complaint or a court battle.  Despite the fact that some consumers are innocent and should not be responsible for costs incurred due to the wrong meter reading, the city would silence the consumers’ complaints with the excuse of “occasional leak”, leaving consumers swallowing the excessive costs, says the insider.

该内部人士称：“消费者总是处于弱势，在这种情况下往往会成为受害者。”

“The consumers are always vulnerable and become the victims in these occasions.”

市府拒绝免掉居民因忠实地遵循其建议而导致的高额水费单却一点都不出乎我的意料。事实上，消费者很容易被人忽悠和任人摆布，他们在官僚地狱面前，除了承受巨额账单别无选择。

I am not surprised at all that the city refuses to write off the unexpected water costs incurred to residents who faithfully followed their advice. Indeed, consumers are easily to be fooled and manipulated. When they are caught in the bureaucratic limbo, they face no choice other than to suck up the bill shocks.

我通过增加对浴室的空气流通而解决了水龙头冻结的问题。我幸运地避免了巨额水费账单，没有沦为多市供水部门疏忽和欺凌行为的受害者。

I fixed the frozen tap with increased ventilation of warm air in the bathroom. I feel lucky that I have avoided a water bill shock, not being victimized by the negligent and bullying practices of our water provider.