Numerous water bills spike from the hundreds to thousands

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - After hundreds of residents have complained about unusually high water bills, DeKalb County has issued a moratorium on disconnecting water to residents because of resident concerns over the accuracy of the bills. The county said this applies through the end of the year to accounts which have been contested.

Officials said 700 formal disputes have been filed with the county, and there has been an uptick in calls with complaints.  

"To jump from $190... to almost $3,000 is absurd," said Shaun Curran of Brookhaven, whose bill stated his family used 80,000 gallons of water and owed $2866.58 for one billing cycle. He called the watershed department to complain. 

Others who have reached out to FOX 5 noted spikes from $300 to $1,900. 

"[We have] put in place this moratorium for those persons who have received unusually high bills, and are disputing the bill," said Zach Williams, COO of DeKalb County.  

"There's a multitude of causes. The bill is an end result of a daisy chain of processes that starts with the installation of the meter, the reading of the meter," Williams said. 

“I have always said that one incorrect water bill is too many, and we have a number of issues that could factor into many errors on bills,” stated Interim CEO Lee May in a release sent to FOX 5 News. “We must ensure that the process is accurate, and we have to err on the side of caution until we are confident that it is.”

May suggested anyone who believes they have a billing error should visit the Utility Customer Operations Center at 774 Jordan Lane in Decatur or call 404-378-4475. Accounts will then be reviewed by an independent third party.

The county said it is in the process of replacing all the water meters, replacing them with digital meters which can transmit in real-time. Officials said 70,000 new digital water meters are in operation in the county. That project should be complete by 2021.

Payments will still be required by people with a formal dispute, the county said, which would reflect their usual average.