An $8,000 water bill came as a big surprise to one Houston couple who is not willing to pay it.
It started with a mess in their front yard in December. The Murphy family's front yard flooded and they knew they had a problem, so they tried getting help from the City of Houston.
“I called the 311 number and so they put in a service request," said Vanessa Murphy, a Houston water customer.
That was around December 22, right before Christmas. The Murphys weren't expecting it to be handled right away, but they were thinking the city would send a crew out in a week or so, but they never came.
In January, their water bill looked normal, but turns out it was estimated. That means no one came out to physically read the meter. Then, came the shock.
“February we get a bill for $8,062," said Murphy.
That's when the family decided to call KHOU 11 for help.
“We live in Sagemont, not in a place where we could afford an $8,000 water bill," she said.
The same day KHOU contacted Houston Public Works, they sent a crew out.
"That was disappointing, this wasn’t the first time I reported a water leak and they didn’t come out for weeks or even months, so it almost felt dismissive that they had ignored my request for service," said Murphy.
At first, the city said it was a leak on the Murphy’s side. So, they got a plumber. He fixed the leak on their side but then told them there were also repairs that needed to be made on the city’s side too.
“This $8,000 bill, we can’t afford to pay it and the leak wasn’t entirely ours, how many millions of gallons are being wasted that the city is paying to filter and drainage for everything else, it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars," she said.
We asked Public Works what was going on with the Murphys' bill and a spokeswoman sent us this statement:
"Customer Account Services (CAS) estimated her January bill which may have delayed the discovery of the leak. Our team will review her readings over the past few months and compare them to the readings once the leak is repaired. Vanessa Murphy may not see the adjustment on her account until the readings have returned to normal usage levels."
They also told KHOU 11 that Public Works replaced the Murphys' remote reading device in their meter, so they should no longer have to deal with estimated bills. A hold has been placed on their account while CAS processes a leak adjustment.
Meantime, Mayor John Whitmire has said he will soon release a new plan to address high water bills. He told KHOU 11 last Wednesday in an interview that his plan would be out by the end of last week or first thing this week. KHOU asked his spokeswoman about the delay. She sent us this statement:
"Mayor Whitmire wants the water bill reform plan to be right and not rushed. He will announce a plan to address high water bills while restoring public confidence and trust in the billing system."
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