A South Florida woman’s water bill skyrockets with no explanation. She couldn’t get any answers from the city, so she turned to 7Investigates with Courtney Allen.
Shana Roberts is a registered nurse who moved her family into this Fort Lauderdale home a couple years ago.
Shana Roberts: “It was cute, I saw it, I liked it, so here we are.”
The single mother of three says she stays on top of her bills, including her water bill.
Shana Roberts: “My bills range between like $111 to $140.”
In mid-August, someone came to her home and left this door hanger, letting her know the City of Fort Lauderdale had changed her water meter to a smart meter.
The city is in the process of updating approximately 65,000 water meters across the city to a smart meter system.
Shana Roberts: “No big deal. I figured, ‘Okay, it makes it easier for them to get their readings.'”
No big deal, until she got her next water bill.
Shana Roberts “This month, I get a bill for $896.”
Her bill was more than eight times higher than the previous month.
You can see the spike for the month of August on her water usage graph.
Shana Roberts: “I have never had that high of a bill, I mean, I’m not watering the whole community.”
She reached out to the city. In an email, the city told her examples for a high water utility bill include “running/leaking toilet” and “leaking faucets,” so Shana had a plumbing company come to her home.
Their paperwork states: “Her toilets are not running randomly. Her meter also did not move for over an hour.”
Shana sent those findings to the city, applied for a bill adjustment, and was told to wait.
Shana Roberts: “‘We will get back to you, 30 to 60 days. In the meantime, pay your bill.'”
With a nearly $900 water bill Shana couldn’t afford to pay, she turned to 7Investigates to help speed the process along.
We reached out to the City of Fort Lauderdale.
The next day, the city approved Shana’s application for an “Unexplained high water consumption adjustment.”
That brought her total balance due down to $244.90.
The city told us Shana’s water usage spike began before the new smart meter was installed, but she would still like someone from the city to come check out the meter to make sure there are no more surprises.
Shana Roberts: “I have enough on my plate. I don’t need that issue to be another headache.”
Courtney Allen, 7News.
The city says if you think your meter is inaccurate, you can request a meter test. If the meter is found to be faulty, the city will replace it and any overcharges will be credited to your account.
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