Detroit water: Running toilets a common culprit in big bills

This week FOX 2 has told you about some Detroit water customers who got astronomical bills.

It turns out they are not alone, like at the Junque Shop Antiques. At the store they don't use a lot of water, so what's up with this high water bill?

"The city of Detroit said I used over 20,000 gallons of water in one month," said Joe Bozich, the store owner. "The bill is for $244.26. They are claiming I used 20,944 gallons of water.

"The bill is usually 37 dollars and change."

Joe Bozich called FOX 2 after seeing other stories this week about out of the ordinary high water bills. He happened to get his high bill last winter.

"I checked for leaks, I had the city come out and check for leaks, I had no leaks," he said.

But no real answers until the FOX 2 Problem Solvers stepped in.

"There was a constant source of water running which indicated there was a leak of some sort on the property," said Palencia Mobley, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department. 

It happened over a five-day period in January. On some days more than 5,000 gallons of water.

Mobley says most likely the toilet was running, even telling us about her personal experience.

"My toilet was running for six days and it was almost silent, you almost couldn't hear it," she said.

And remember the Davis family, who got an incredibly high water bill for the month of June?? Well listen to this.

"Yesterday when our field service technician did an investigation they were able to put a dye in the toilet and found it was running and the handle was broken," Mobley said.

A running toilet means constant water usage.

"People don't realize what a toilet running can really lead to," Mobley said. "I didn't know four years ago that I got a $212.00 bill because of six days."