DEWEY, Okla. — Jenna Thornburgh emailed the Problem Solvers about an issue we hear about from many viewers - what do you do when you suddenly get a surprise big water bill out of the blue?
Thornbrugh's family of three moved into a little rental home in Dewey a couple of months ago. Their first water bill was for a partial month and came to about $30 so she tells 2 News she was stunned when the next bill totaled nearly $600.
She says the bill didn't arrive by mail, instead she had to call the City to ask for her bill.
"They proceeded to tell me we used 48,000 gallons of water, " she said. “I didn’t used 48,000 gallons, so I really didn’t want to get stuck with the bill."
The City sent out a crew to check her water meter and found it had been tampered with, but since Thornbrugh said her family didn't touch it, the City Manager, Kevin Trease, told 2 News "We looked into it and we've given them a break on their sewer charge that was based on that water usage which'll knock the bill down I think $147."
And while exactly what caused this bill to balloon isn't known, there are a lot of sneaky water wastersthat can drive up a water bill.
- A leaky faucet dripping 30 times a minute can send 3 gallons of water a day down the drain according to the US Geological Survey - it has a calculator that lets you see how much is wasted by other leaks.
- It also notes, water lost through a leaky toilet can add an extra $300 a month to your water bill.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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