Anyone spending time in Loreto Bay gets used to unexpected water outages on an all too regular basis. Typically these are due to a leak somewhere in the system that requires large portions of Loreto Bay to be shut off for a few hours in order to complete the repairs. So when my water stopped working on the afternoon of January 6, 2025; I just assumed there was a leak somewhere. Surely I’d receive an email from the HOA letting me know of the shutoff and when service would be restored.

Several hours passed and I’d heard nothing. I talked with some neighbors who had water service so it seemed odd that only mine was turned off. Then I saw someone else post on Facebook about the outage. It was suggested I looked at the main valve on the outside of my casa. I discovered I had been branded with a scarlet zip tie. In other words, OOMSAPA (the local water company) had turned off my water service completely.

Once I discovered why I didn’t have water service, I next wanted to know their reasoning for turning it off. Like many residents of Loreto Bay, I do not directly pay my water bill. My Property Manager handles this for me. So I asked if my bill had been paid since it seemed the reasoning for the shutoff was a late payment. I was told that it was definitely paid in time and that OOMSAPA had admitted to the property manager they had made (and since corrected) the billing mistake on about 50 homes. Except after they supposedly fixed the mistake, they still cut off service on those homes.

I always laugh at the way houses receive water bills. They are just shoved in the door frame. Since my property manager pays the bill, I’ve never understood why I even receive a bill and I rarely even look at them. After being shut off, I looked at the bill stuffed in my door on January 3 or 4. You’ll see it below and note that the amount due is in pesos and it is around $68 USD at today’s exchange rates.

Several years ago I also received a water bill that showed a late payment and I had asked my property manager about it. The answer was the same as in this situation where OOMSAPA had made accounting mistakes and didn’t mark payments as received. What has changed recently is that rates have risen quite a bit and they are now very proactive in turning off service quickly for those who are late. That would make perfect sense if they didn’t make such awful accounting mistakes.

At this time I don’t know exactly what will change going forward, but I’m sure my property manager will lodge a serious complaint with OOMSAPA. I’ve even suggested I should get a free month of water service for their horrible mistake. No, I won’t get it. But until the water company is penalized for making these mistakes, I fear they will continue to make them.