A Texas woman no longer owes a $5,319.21 water bill after disputing the charge. But the relief came without an explanation from her utility, which previously claimed her household had used more than 200,000 gallons in just two days.
Here's what to know
Aqua Texas told Houston-area customer Melinda Sperl that her home had used 209,000 gallons over a two-day period, according to a report from FOX 26 Houston.
As the station noted, the water could fill a typical small city's municipal water tower. It would also fill 22 full-size school buses lined up side by side.
Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with Sperl about the charge and its eventual disappearance. Sperl said nothing about her household's water use could explain such an enormous amount.
"I thought they were crazy," she told the station. "There's no way. We don't have a pool. We had nothing for it to be that high."
More background
Aqua Texas blamed a leak on Sperl's property, but she suspected a broken water main behind her home. Repairing that main would have been the utility's responsibility, according to FOX 26. Sperl told Wallace that the company would not agree that it was the cause.
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The amount of water raised another question about the company's explanation. The outlet noted that a leak of that size would have been impossible to miss.
With those competing explanations unresolved, Sperl faced the balance for months, questioning both the extraordinary usage figure and the company's explanation.
"I was getting nowhere," she told FOX 26. "They weren't responding to me. They weren't calling me back. They weren't responding to me."
What's being done?
Sperl reached out to the station, asking for help. A zero balance eventually appeared during one of Sperl's daily checks of her bill.
An explanation was still missing, Sperl told FOX 26, even as she welcomed no longer owing the money.
"But hey, if they zeroed it out, I'm good," she reacted.
Aqua Texas cited customer privacy as the reason for declining to discuss the account change.
"Out of respect for customer privacy, we are unable to comment further on the specifics of this customer's account," the company told the network.
Sperl said to Wallace she "couldn't complain" but was still bewildered by the whole saga.
"It's like they won't admit that they did anything wrong, but they just credited the account and it doesn't make sense," she concluded to FOX 26.
Where can I learn more?
Sperl isn't the only water customer questioning a sudden bill increase.
• Texas lawmakers sought a probe of Aqua Texas after residents logged 496 water bills.
• Odessa is fighting refunds as hundreds of residents say new meters quadrupled bills.
• A Florida homeowner's bill soared before the utility reported 1,400 gallons in 10 hours.
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