Water Bill Update+ Dutch Colonial Masterpiece!

Wow!  My water story went viral! I was on AOL, Yahoo the Huffington Post and on TV three times!  The people from Fox & Friends even called me!

See that nice screen shot of me?  ha ha.

Well, I wish I could say that all the publicity fixed the problem.  It didn't.  The City of Atlanta Department of Wetershed Management DID replace my meter, so that's a huge step in the right direction.  They also said they would erase the $6,00o bill that I got last month.  That was human error that occurred after they put on the data logger.  They also erased the next two highest bills, which were for several thousand dollars.  That leaves me with a $900 balance.  I still don't think that is fair since I have been overplaying them for a year.  It also does not totally solve the problem of why the bill has been so crazy.  I had another plumber come out (the 4th) to confirm there were no leaks.  Now I have to get a 5th plumber to come out at the same time as a person from the city, which is called a water audit.  After the audit I have to go back to the water board appeal hearing.  I am so tired of dealing with this.  I have put at least 40 or 50 hours into dealing with this for the past year.  I am just so ready to have a normal water bill and get back to life as usual.

Moving along...

I shot this amazing Dutch Colonial home a few weeks ago.  It is located at 537 Hillside Drive with interior design by Mandy Culpepper.  Listed by Erin Yabroudy and Wendy Wood Leebern.

It's been a while since I was totally floored by a house... and I was thrilled to pull into this driveway!

It feel like you are in Europe as soon as you hit the gravel.

I started outside photographing the grounds.  It was all so lush and perfectly landscaped.

Loving this bench!

You know my favorite color is orange!

No, the house does not come with this super cute dog!

I could take a snooze on this hammock, especially after my late night last night watching fireworks at Cherokee!

There is a treehouse!  My entire adult life I've wanted to build myself a treehouse... although I would NOT run water to it!  (re: my $9,000 water bill).

I love this picture because of that swing...  If I knew where that was from I would def register for it.  Awesome!

When I was finished with the grounds I headed inside...

The foyer reminds me a little bit of our famous Neel Reid House on Andrews.

Office with fireplace off of the foyer.Another view from the office back into the foyer.

This is the view right as you walk into the front door.  Love the carpet!  

This is the dining room to the right of the foyer.

I love the kitchen!  Any type of exposed shelving always gets me... and the stainless steel island... oh my.

This kitchen opens to this amazing breakfast room, which opens to the porch.  Those chairs are fantastic!

This is the view looking back into the kitchen.  Great looking!

The formal living room is off the kitchen and the library.  The red is such a bold choice and works so well.  I'm also slightly obsessed with the bird painting above the fireplace (it looks kind of like the shirt I am wearing on the news in the screen shot at the top of this post).

This hallway leads from the kitchen to the great room.  That's a great coffee table/ottoman.

This is my favorite room in the house.  I'm a sucker for cathedral wood ceilings... AND cow rugs... and framed American flags.  Duh.

Loving the color of the walls and the fun pillows!

For more information on this great house (and upstairs pictures), please check out Erin Yabroudy's blog.

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My $9,224.40 water bill.

Forget being funny, this is serious now.  Remember my post a few months ago about my $758.93 water bill?  Child's Play.  Last night I got a bill for $9,224.40!

Here is a copy of the letter I wrote to my lawyer on April 23rd.

I started getting high water bills last July when my water bill was $497.  I assumed I had a leak, so I got a handyman  to come out and check everything.  The handle of my downstairs toilet was not as tight as it should be.  To be cautious, we replaced every part of both toilets except the toilets themselves.  We did all the handles and all the valve things inside that keep the water from leaking.  I also appealed that water bill.  I paid them $100 a month during the process of having this appealed the first time.  They turned down my appeal.  Basically they sent someone out to check my meter and said there was nothing wrong with the meter.  On October 13th I got a notice in the mail saying that my entire balance ($384.26) was due that day or they would turn off my water. I paid the bill.  By December 16th I had a $758.93 water bill.  We called the water department and worked out an agreement where I would pay them $120 a month until I could get a court date.  We decided that would be a slightly high but fair amount for me to pay.  That number was based on my neighbor down the street's average monthly water bill (she has a family of 4). A few days later the water department came out and checked my meter again.  They said nothing was wrong with it.

I had the same handyman come out again and check the meter and both toilets and the sink and the dishwasher and the washing machine. All the connections were secure and the toilets were running the way the should.  Since December 16th I have given the water company $600. Last Friday I got a bill in the mail for 1,430.00 worth of past charges plus my bill for April, which was 1,155.82.  That brings the current amount I owe to 2,586.11.  After I got the bill last Friday I got an actual certified plumber to go by my house and confirm that there are no leaks.  

I live alone, work all day. I probably spend, on average, 20-25 nights per month in my house…  for these purposes we will say I spend 25 nights a month there.   I have been keeping track of the average of how much water I use during a month.  See below.

Toilet Flushes: 4 per day, 100 per month

Showers.  I take one every day, and sometimes two a day if I work out.  Lets say I take 30-35 showers a month.

Baths.  I take around 5 a month.

Loads of laundry. 5 every two weeks, so 10 a month

Dishwasher runs.  I run the dishwasher about twice a week, so 10 times a month.

The only other water I use is to cook and drink, which should be fairly minimal.

I do not do any outdoor watering at all.

---END OF LETTER TO LAWYER.---

Before my hearing I spoke to the Public Relations Manager at the water department.  She said she agreed there was no leak at my house and said they would put a device on my meter to monitor the water usage hour by hour.

The hour by hour monitor was not put on before my hearing.

My lawyer and I went to to The Department of Watershed Management on April 30th.  We Sat in a room for three hours and got called into the meeting room.  We sat before a panel of five people.  One person form the Water Department and four citizens.  My lawyer and I explained my situation.  After we were finished the board decided to put the aforementioned monitor on my meter.  They also told me that I needed to get an additional "leak detection specialist" to come to my house and make sure there was no leak (even though I had bills from three plumbers saying there was no leak.)

After the hearing I researched leak detection specialists, and they cost @$500.  Since I had already spent so much on a lawyer and plumbers, I decided to wait and see what the monitor said.

My May bill came.  It was $175, which is still fairly high.  I called back the public relations manager to see what I should do moving forward.  The monitor was still not on my meter.  This time she told me that after looking at my consumption history, they decided THAT I HAD A LEAK IN THE PAST AND GOT IT FIXED!!  This is absolutely absurd.  I have no way of proving I did not get a leak fixed, BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE  A LEAK.  I expressed my frustration and asked if I could please just get a new meter.  She said no, but said that they would put on the monitor.

Last night I opened my mailbox and got a bill for $9,224.40.  $2,638.68 worth of past charges, and $6,705.72 worth of new charges.  The thing that is so frustrating is that IF I HAD A LEAK, and IF I had gotten it fixed, HOW WOULD MY BILL BE THIS HIGH?  Good news!  I looked at my meter AND THEY HAD ATTACHED THE MONITOR.  I am at the end of my rope and need help.

My $758.93 Water Bill

Merry Christmas one and all. Speaking of Christmas, I got a nice little present in the mail last night.  A $758.93 water bill.  Thank you so much City of Atlanta (Department of Watershed Management)!  How did you know this was just what I wanted?  NOT.

This is where I live.  I love it here.  3 bedrooms, 2 baths.

It's the perfect home for me and Sister.... which is great since we are the only people who live there.

Yes, one person and a 2 pound dog racked up an almost $800 water bill.  How?

Well, around September 15th, I got a bill for @500.  I called to dispute the charges.  I had had a leaky toilet in July, but had quickly gotten a plumber out to the house to fix the problem and replace all the valves on all the toilets just to be safe.  The lady I spoke with said that I could appeal my bill.   I paid them $100 somewhere around October 1st.  They sent a man out to look at my meter and determined that there was nothing wrong with the meter, so it must be my problem.  On October 14th... I remember because it was my birthday, I got a letter in the mail saying if I did not pay the entire charge by October 15th they would shut off my water and then charge me the entire bill plus a reconnect fee to turn the water back on.  Thank God they accept credit cards.

Around November 15th I got a water bill for $463.02.  I called the water company again.  I asked if I could appeal this bill.  They said no because my last appeal still had not been finalized, and you couldn't have two appeals at once.  She suggested that I wait until my December bill and see if there was a noticeable difference in my meter reading.  I did not pay any money on that bill, and she assured me they would not turn off my water.  She also assured me there was a leak in my house.  To be on the safe side I got another plumber to come out to the house and look, and he also said there were no leaks.

Yesterday I got this in the mail.  After I stopped crying (true) I checked all the toilets again.  There were no leaks.

Here is the chart showing my water usage.  You can see that I had a toilet leak in July, which I got fixed.

My neighbor has a family of 4 and has an average water bill of $120 a month.

This may be more information than you wanted to know, but I added up my water usage, and this is what I got.

Showers: 8-9 a week, 36 a month

Toilet Flushes (sorry to share this information): @3 a day, 21 a week, 84 a month

Washing Machine Runs: On the high side we will say 4 a week, 16 a month

Dishwasher: 2 a week, 8 a month.

I can't think of any other time I use water unless I an drinking it or rinsing my dishes.  Sister gets 1 tiny bowl of water a day, and I am thinking of asking her to cut back.  JK

I had another plumber come to my house today.

He took this picture of the meter.  He watched it for @20 minutes and there was no change (meaning no leaks).  Then he had his assistant flush a toilet and the meter rose slightly.  This means there are no leaks in the house.

We wrote the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management a letter today explaining the situation.  We also called.  They have agreed to let me play $120 a month until my hearing, which could be in a month or two.  Any advice you guys have would be very very helpful.  Have you had to deal with anything like this?  I have no idea what the hearing will entail, but I am gathering as much evidence as possible.  $800 is insane.

If I don't get this resolved, then I will soon be selling a very small dog who drinks too much water.

KIDDING!  I would NEVER sell Sister, but could I interest you in a 3 year old flatscreen/anything else worth $800?  Going once....

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