ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The St. Petersburg City Council is taking action to address the city’s sky-high water bills.
Many neighbors said this is well overdue, including one woman who said she is facing a bill of nearly $50,000.
Her water utility work order records raised new questions about the city’s water meters.
Ashley Wright’s current amount due on her water bill at her vacant single-family home is $48,453.66.
“It says we used around 212,000 gallons of water,” Wright said.
In November of last year, city records show Wright’s water meter was replaced not once, but twice within a span of days.
“When I contacted them, they promised to place a letter on our door, but it never arrived at our property; it ended up being sent to the wrong address,” Wright explained.
Documents detail a “check service leak” after workers found her meter box full of water.
Notes even state one meter “snapped” because it was installed too tightly.
Before those changes, Wright’s average water use was just over 1,000 gallons a month. Afterward, records show spikes as high as 111,000 gallons.
“Initially, the bill was $12,000. I called them and asked, ‘Why is it so high?’ They informed us there was a leak, so we hired someone to check it out, but the bill kept increasing. Eventually, it reached $40,000, and I questioned, ‘Are we supplying water to the whole street?’” Wright recounted.
8 On Your Side reached out to the city’s billing department to inquire how notifications are made when meters are changed or when leaks are reported. We’re still awaiting their response.
The mayor and his administration have also not responded to our request to comment.
According to Wright’s work order, despite several attempts to change the meters and a filed leak report, her bill skyrocketed, and she claims she was not notified about any of it.
Wright said she hopes someone will fix what she believes is a city error before more residents get hit with bills they can’t explain.
