Detroit man says water bills wrongly charged for 110,000 gallons
Man caring for mother facing massive water bill
Roderick Wright takes care of his mother, Dorothy, who has dementia and is in a wheelchair. She’s lived in her Eastside home for decades. Her water usage and bills had always been low until they got their bills for May and June, and suddenly they owed hundreds of dollars. They got a new meter, a plumber checked for leaks and running toilets but found nothing.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit man caring for his disabled mother says he was charged for tens of thousands of gallons of water they did not use.
Big picture view:
Roderick Wright takes care of his mother, Dorothy, who has dementia and is in a wheelchair. She’s lived in her Eastside home for decades. Her water usage and bills had always been low until they got their bills for May and June, and suddenly they owed hundreds of dollars. They got a new meter, a plumber checked for leaks and running toilets but found nothing.
"I don’t see how we used 110,000 gallons. That’s enough to fill 3 or 4 swimming pools," he said. "Then I got another bill for $370 and 46,000 gallons. I don’t want them to come and turn the water off to the house."
Dig deeper:
A spokesperson says the Wrights have been enrolled in the easy pay program and are protected from a shutoff. Their bill has been adjusted to before the high usage occurred through the leak credit program.
The water department says the leak was likely a running toilet they were unaware of, but Roderick Wright still says they didn’t have any leaks or running toilets.
Hopefully, there are no more problems moving forward.