A WOMAN was left stunned after she spotted the amount on her water bill for two months of usage.
It wasn’t several dollars more than the homeowner expected, but rather thousands.
A woman was stunned recently by a water bill she received worth $10,000 (stock image)[/caption]
The costly situation happened recently to Georgia resident Kelly Walker after she opened her water bill to find it totaled more than $10,000, per ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
Walker and her husband relocated to a residence in Sandy Springs, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, last year.
They found out the residence had a leak upon moving in and proceeded to get it fixed, but seemingly inherited the cost for the water that had already spilled out.
“We understand there was a leak, but it’s unfortunate we did not get the first bill, it was our second bill that was $10,000,” she told the outlet.
While the couple hired a plumber to repair the leak, located in the yard’s irrigation system, the charges stem from the sewage, as the city claimed the leak spilled over into the system.
Walker argued that the leak merely went into the ground and not the sewer.
Given that fact and that the couple tried to get the leak fixed right away, she doesn’t believe they should be given the sewer charges.
According to her, the City of Atlanta didn’t budge.
“They told us you owe it, pay it,” Walker claimed.
In the New Year, the couple is still at odds with the city to avoid paying the outstanding amount.
“We’re trying, we spent hours and hours, and hours of our time trying to resolve this,” she noted.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the City of Atlanta for more information.
NOT ALONE
Walker and her husband aren’t the only Atlanta-area residents with a similar struggle, either.
Fellow homeowner Christa DiBiase, who lives in nearby DeKalb County just northeast of the city, faced a bill of over $2,000 for sewage charges due to some sod that she was watering in her front yard daily.
They told us you owe it, pay it.
Kelly Walker
“It was running every day for a couple of months,” she explained to WSB-TV in a separate conversation.
DeKalb County officials told the outlet that while water did not go down DiBiase’s drain due to the sod, it still determined usage based on water consumption.
The county also said it recognizes water that comes out of the drain and what goes down the drain as “sewer service based on water usage.”
TOOL RECOMMENDED
Officials highly recommended that homeowners install an irrigation meter that can accurately read usage and save residents several thousand dollars on bills.
When installed, they’re only charged the irrigation rate on the meter for all water that flows through it.
The meters for DeKalb County can be bought through the Department of Watershed Management with a $600 deposit, which is then returned whenever residents no longer need it.
For homeowners like Walker and her husband, irrigation meters can be requested through Fulton County.
Many Americans nationwide have faced staggering water bills recently.
Last month, a couple was shocked at an “impossible” $1,147 water bill after being forced from their home by back-to-back hurricanes.
A senior was also left desperate after a $762 water bill she said there was no way she could afford.
