ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There is an outpouring of outrage in St. Petersburg as more people contact the ABC Action News I-Team about their sky-high water bills.
Council members directed the city utility last week to put a pause on water shutoffs and late fees as they work to determine how many people are impacted, how many issues have been resolved, and what the problem is.
St. Pete Utilities addresses concerns about extremely high utility bills
The I-Team first began working on trying to make sense of water bills that didn’t add up in the fall after Noreen McClure reached out asking for help with a bill that had grown to more than $10,000 on a home that was empty.
The city has failed to provide any answers or explanation about how the St. Pete home racked up the outrageous bill, a bill the city has not backed down on as more people come forward, showing McClure and her family are not alone.
The I-Team met with McClure in her mother’s home, where she has lived for 45 years. Like for so many in St. Pete, coming home after Hurricane Helene meant starting over.
“We had over three feet of water in the house, so we've gutted this house,” McClure said, sitting on a bench in her mother’s now empty living room.
Before the flood of people saying their water bills have surged, McClure said she felt she was fighting alone for her mom.
“We’re talking about a 93-year-old woman, who currently is in a nursing facility, who couldn't deal with this,” McClure said.
McClure said her mom’s bills are on automatic payments. That’s when she was first alerted to the big water bill.
“Her bank reached out to me because there was insufficient funds to pay a bill,” she said.
Her May water bill was over $4,000.
“That's crazy,” McClure said.
Calling the city, she was told she would have to hire a leak detection company to check the property.
McClure paid $300 to Sonar Bonar. The company’s owner, Gary Bonar, said for the last 30 years, he’s specialized in leak detection.
“I don’t have any explanation for it,” Bonar said.
First, his colleague came out to check for any leaks. Then Bonar made a second trip.
“The customer didn’t feel they got an answer. And I came out, and I checked everything again, and I didn’t get an answer for them. I just, I don’t have an explanation why they could use a whole lot of water and then it stop. I mean if there were several neighbors pools they filled or something, you know that’s — it’s just so much water. I don’t have an answer for it,” Bonar said.
Figure an average swimming pool takes 20,000 gallons of water to fill. This would mean, in April, McClure’s mother’s home used enough water to fill more than six swimming pools. And her home — doesn’t even have a pool.
“I don’t see any signs of the water anywhere,” Bonar said.
If someone in St. Pete receives an extremely high water bill, there are three options:
- Fix the leak and apply for a leak adjustment
- If there is no leak, set up a payment plan
- Dispute the bill with the Utility Billing Review Committee (UBRC)
McClure fought back, including in her petition that although no one has been living in the home, “we are at the residence daily to handle the mail and check on the property.”
At the committee meeting, McClure said they kept referring to her August bill.
“I said, well, I'm here for the May bill. And they said, well, now the bill is $9,900 and something because the same scenario happened again in August. Even with more water usage,” McClure said.
This was after the usage had dropped to zero in the vacant home before again spiking.
“None of it makes any sense,” McClure said. “They're saying that the meter, the computer doesn't lie. Well, neither do I.”
McClure’s appeal was denied. She was given a letter stating that if she wanted to take it further, she will need to take legal action.
After multiple requests for an interview, the city would not meet with the I-Team. In a statement, a spokesperson said the committee determined that there was no issue with the city’s equipment and no billing error.
“I was getting shut down,” McClure said.
As she was getting shut down, others were getting their water shut off.
“We’ll have people who are getting their water shut off. So how do we fix that part?” Council Member Gina Driscoll said in the February 6 City Council meeting. “And that’s going to make things right for the people who are begging us for help right now.”
The city council addressed the issue and told the utility that responses like the one McClure received were not good enough.
“It seems like everyone who’s calling with an issue because they have like a four-figure water bill, is being told it’s the rate increases or you have a leak. And then people come back, and they say, we do not have a leak,” Driscoll said.
City Council Member Deborah Figgs-Sanders questioned the city’s responsibility for the high water bills.
“What if we really did make the mistake? What if it really is on us?” Figgs-Sanders said. “We need to own it. We just need to own it, there is a possibility that the mistake is on our end whenever you transition equipment.”
McClure just hopes the city will reconsider.
“It's a $10,000 bill that she doesn't have the money to pay for,” she said.
Council members are expected to take the issue back up on Feb. 20, asking the city’s utility how many people are impacted, how many disputed bills have been resolved, and what needs to change in the city code to provide relief.
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"NONE OF IT MAKES ANY SENSE"
The I-Team has been trying to make sense of high water bills that didn’t add up after Noreen McClure reached out asking for help with a water bill that had grown to more than $10,000 in a home that no one is living in.