Atlanta family says they got $6K water bill thanks to faulty meter

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Imagine opening your water bill and seeing a balance due of nearly $6,000.

That was the reality for one Atlanta family, and now they're in a fight to correct the issue.

After months of back and forth with Atlanta Watershed, Lois Howard says she just wants their bill fixes, expenses reimbursed and for the water department to admit the problem.

Howard has lived on Majestic Lane for 30 years. When she started receiving thousand-dollar water bills, she knew something wasn't right.

Her first call, she says, was to Atlanta Watershed Management.

She says a water crew came out and determined the problem was with her property.

So Howard hired a plumber.

After paying him almost $3,000, the plumber determined it was not Howard's issue and once again she contacted Atlanta Watershed.

"We went through so much," Howard said. "They finally decided to take care of the problem, but at the same time we still owe $6,022." 

She says some mornings her family gets up and doesn't have water or barely has enough to wash their faces.

Turns out a defective meter appears to be to blame for the high water bills.

FOX 5 reached out to Atlanta Watershed Management, but have yet to hear back about the case.