Reader-submitted opinion

Subject: Water Shutoff Abuse and Unaccountable Billing Practices Must Be Addressed

I am writing to publicly call attention to a deeply troubling incident involving Bukar Ibn-Mohammed, who manages the local sewer services, and the wrongful shutoff of my water service—an action taken despite my account being fully paid and my long record of on-time payments.

I have documentation proving a $0 balance, along with a consistent history of paying my sewer bill on the 23rd or 24th of each month. Yet when I returned home Wednesday night, my water had been shut off without warning. Out of concern for my household, I immediately made another payment—even though my bill was already paid in full.

When I called Bukar Ibn-Mohammed to resolve the situation, I was met with disrespect I would never expect from a public service provider. He told me to “shut up and let him talk.” When I refused to be spoken to in that manner, he responded by saying he would not send the email needed to restore my water service.

Mr. Mohammed also claimed he has an arrangement with the water company that allows meters to be locked over sewer billing issues. However, when I contacted the water company directly, they made it clear the lockout did not come from them. They stated I owed no reconnect fee, and that they were waiting solely on an email from Bukar Ibn-Mohammed authorizing the restoration of service. In short, my household remained without water because he refused to send that email—even after being provided proof of payment.

Only after being confronted with these facts did Mr. Mohammed shift his explanation, suddenly claiming I owed him a $100 reconnect fee—a fee that does not appear on my bill and is not supported by any signed contract.

This type of behavior is not just unprofessional; it is punitive and harmful. Water is an essential service. No resident with a perfect payment history should have their water shut off, be spoken to with hostility, or be subjected to fees invented after the fact.

I am sharing this publicly because no customer should be placed in this position. If this is how Bukar Ibn-Mohammed treats fully paid customers, then the community deserves transparency—and local officials need to review these practices immediately.

Tanya Taylor
Deer Park subdivision
tanyattaylor87@gmail.com

P.S. – I offered the water company proof of payments to Bukar Ibn-Mohammed and the water company they refused saying they had to go by what Ibn-Mohammed said and not what I had to offer.