West Des Moines, Iowa, Experiences Y2K Glitch
About 3,600 customers in West Des Moines, Iowa, last week received water bills that said a late fee would be charged for payments made after Jan. 3, 1900, an error caused when billing software interpreted the 00 as 1900, not 2000.
"It affected about a quarter of our customer base," said Larry Anderson, general manager of the West Des Moines Water Works. "The day we learned about it, the problem was fixed and bills with 2000 on them were mailed out."
The $1,500 cost for postage and production for the new bills was paid for by the computer consultant that the department had hired to help with Year 2000 preparations, Anderson said.
The billing date problem was reported and corrected on Thursday, Dec. 16.
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