Hempfield Township residents Matt and Cindy Blaschak went to the Greenville Municipal Authority Board's meeting Tuesday night asking for a resolution concerning a bill for 100,000 gallons of water they say they didn't use.

"I am a nurse," Mrs. Blaschak said, "and I know most of the time when people are upset, they just want to be heard. That is what I'm asking you for -- to be heard."

The Blaschaks took their story to area television stations after they made repeated attempts to get the problem resolved, Blaschak said. After being told repeatedly they would have to pay the $496 bill and there was no way to dispute it, Blaschak said they decided to go public out of desperation.

Instead of taking action on their request, board members asked the Blaschaks to wait a little longer and told them legal action might be a more effective remedy.

Mrs. Blaschak said the bill was for 119,000 gallons of water used in two months.

The Blaschaks have lived in Hempfield Township and been customers of the authority for more than 15 years. In that time, Mrs. Blaschak said, their average water usage for two months was 15,000 gallons.

To support their claims, the Blaschaks brought their water bills from April 2000 to October 2002, showing they'd used a total of 256,000 gallons of water over that time.

"Are you going to tell me we used almost half of the water we used in 2èyears in eight weeks?" asked Blaschak.

The bill arrived Jan. 2 and was for November and December. During that time, the municipal authority experienced pump failures, multiple water main breaks, two weeks of a boil-water advisory and almost a month of conservation measures.

During that time, Blaschak said, their tap water was either not running or was brown with sediment.

"We weren't cooking in it, we weren't drinking it, and for some of those weeks we weren't even showering at home," Mrs. Blaschak said. "For that much money, I should be able to swim in it. I can't even drink it."

The authority board sent the Blaschaks' meter to be tested and said last month that if tests show there was nothing wrong with it, the family will have to pay for the tests, a new water meter and the disputed bill.

Mrs. Blaschak said she and her husband consulted a water meter manufacturer and asked if a meter could be guaranteed to be 100 percent accurate all the time.

"He laughed at me," she said, adding she was told sediment or air in the lines could cause a meter's numbers to jump ahead.

"At times, we'd get a blast of air out of the pipes so hard it would knock a plate or glass out of your hand," Mrs. Blaschak said.

After the authority's pump problems were resolved, the Blaschaks' meter returned to normal readings, she said, adding she didn't think the tests will prove anything.

"In order for those tests to be accurate, you need to have the same situation present," she said. The meters are tested using clean water in a controlled environment.

Mrs. Blaschak asked the board to "think outside of the box" to come up with a solution.

Board Chairman Dick Miller told her that after the board's experience dealing with the Blaschaks' problem, he would hesitate to "think outside of the box again."

"You will have to wait for the results like everyone else," Miller said. "We have bent over backwards, going against policy and sending the meter out. You still have your water. You are impatient. Why should we send it out for testing if the customer already knows what the results will be anyway?"

The couple said they are frustrated with the board's inaction and are prepared to take legal action to resolve the problem.

Board Treasurer Janet Hurlbert said the Blaschaks might have "better luck with a judge" because the board is limited as to what it can do.

In an unrelated discussion of meter readings after the Blaschaks left, board Vice Chairman Dr. John Brown said that part of the couple's problem was that the authority hadn't read their meter in more than two years.

Mrs. Blaschak said she was aware the meter hadn't been read prior to October.

"That's why we didn't question the October bill for $240," she said. "That was a catch-up bill."

The Blaschaks' water was supposed to be turned off last Thursday. Miller said he'd given orders that the Blaschaks have service until the problem is resolved.