The city of Poway, Calif., is suing Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health for up to $800,000 it says the healthcare district owes for city water used by Pomerado Hospital between 2008 and 2015, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
The city mistakenly charged the healthcare district for just 10 percent of the water used at the Poway hospital for seven years because of a meter-reading error, according to the report. The error began when a consolidated meter was installed at the hospital in 2008 and wasn't identified until the summer of 2015.
Prior to the installation of the new meter, Pomerado Hospital's water bills averaged between $150,000 and $200,000. With the new meter, the bills dropped to $15,000 to $20,000, according to the report.
"The city made a mistake in reading the meter," Mayor Steve Vaus said Wednesday, according to the report. "However that doesn't change the fact that they used the water and they need to pay for the water."
The breach of contract lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court Dec. 27 says once the error was discovered, the city of Poway requested the payment from Palomar Health. But the lawsuit states, "Defendants refused, and continue to refuse, to make any payment for the water the city actually delivered to Pomerado Hospital," according to the report.
Informal settlement negotiations between the city and Palomar Health began in June but failed to reach an agreement. The district offered $150,000 to resolve the issue but the city turned it down, according to the report. Now, a judge will decide how much of the $800,000 the health district owes the city.
A Palomar Health spokesperson said Wednesday the district won't comment on the ongoing litigation, and the district has not yet officially responded to the lawsuit.