Indiana Woman Faces $1,000 Water Bill

An Indiana woman is left feeling all wet after receiving a water bill from the City of Fort Wayne for $1,000 because they claim she used 100,000 gallons of water in a single month.

Nicole Tate says that when she first saw the bill she immediately assumed there was an some kind of error, but upon contacting the water department, she quickly realized that the city meant business.

"I can't afford a thousand dollar water bill. It's only a small three bedroom flat ranch,” she said.

After paying for American Leak Detection to come out to assess her home, the company issued a report that stated that there was no explanation for the high water cost and that they were unable to detect any leaks in her home.

On average, the Environmental Protection Agency says that the typical family will use approximately 100,000 gallons of water per year – 8-10 thousand gallons per month. Yet, the city refuses to even consider that their calculations may be wrong and insist that Tate owes the $1,000.

"It's sad to say, they heartless, everybody I've talked to is like, oh well you stuck with it,” said Tate.

Meanwhile, even though Tate has a city hearing scheduled on April 30 regarding this matter, she recently received a notice in the mail saying her water service will be disconnected on April 22 if her bill is not paid.

She says that while she already feels that she has lost this battle, she continues to pay the current water charges of $60 per month.