CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Lewis Allen said his occasional plant-watering is the only water he uses outside his home, but he got a water bill for more than $5,000.
"(There) ain't no way we can use that much water," he said.
In April, Allen said he got a bill of $5,800. Earlier, he said, he complained to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Department, telling workers that his water meter had been damaged by city garbage trucks turning around in his driveway.
"(They) ran over the meter," Allen said. "It was so far down in the ground (that) water was coming up."
CMUD workers checked the meter, Allen said, and told him the water inside was just rainwater. Over the next few weeks, though, Allen said he thinks thousands of gallons of water poured out of the meter.
"It had got all the way down in my yard," he said.
Allen called CMUD again and this time, he said, workers fixed the damaged meter. He said he was told the leak was on his side of the meter, though, and he had to pay the high bill.
Allen said he struggled to make payments and managed to get the balance down to $4,100. He still thinks he shouldn't be held responsible.
"It made me feel like they don't care about poor people," he said. "They just want money."
Action 9 contacted CMUD spokesman Cam Coley, who promised to look into the matter. After checking into Allen's bill, Coley said there was a "miscommunication between two staff members."
CMUD then cleared away more than $4,000 in charges from Allen's bill.
"I am relieved," Allen said. "I am really relieved. It took a whole lot off of me, because I was burdened down."