Dragging the West View Water Authority in to the late 20th century

I was extremely annoyed a couple of weeks ago when I learned that the Westview Water Authority, the people responsible for ensuring the potability of the water that I drink, which is sucked out of the river downstream from the sewage plant where I work and the nation's largest operating coke plant, doesn't have an e-mail address.

I was already moderately annoyed by how hard it was to get in touch with somebody about a meter installation we weren't sure we had scheduled, so I was already pumped to write a letter of complaint. When I learned that that letter would have to involve paper, pen, stamps, envelope, addresses, hand writing, and spelling errors I freaked out and went completely over the top with a hand written letter including the e-mail addresses of the water utility companies for Peoria, IL, Eugene, OR, and Kathmandu Nepal. As far as I can tell from the internet, Tombouctou, Mali, does not have a water utility company worth e-mailing, or I would have included that too.

I was trying to include a scan of the scribbly hand written letter, but HP and I have a little negotiation to do first.

Anyway, last week I got a call back from someone at the Westview Water Authority apologizing for my difficulty and asking, basically, what was wrong with me that I couldn't just talk to the nice lady they pay to answer the phones. Actually, their representative was very pleasant, and acknowledged that e-mail can be more convenient and that yes, many people in our area are wedged firmly in the early 20th century. I told him I appreciated his response, and hopefully our account has not been flagged with their "whacko" code.

This week I got an e-mail from the same guy, Dan, reiterating those points. And we also got a visit from Matt, the meter installation guy, who was extremely nice and efficient, and even took the time to make friends with Otto on the way through the yard.