SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. — A man is calling on the town of Southbridge to investigate unusually high-water bills.
Gerry Alicea tells Boston 25 News he received his first sky high water bill back in February.
June is just days away and he says he’s still been trying to get the problem resolved with the town.
“So, this is my original bill which averages anywhere from $300 to $500,” Alicea explained.
Shortly after Alicea says his water meter was replaced, the big bills started flooding in and the balances were higher than ever.
One for more than $4,000 and then another for almost $4,000 more totaling nearly $8,000.
“I don’t know what to do!”
Alicea says he’s been getting passed from person to person within the town and the town’s water department and still hasn’t received a real answer or path to a solution.
He says he’s called in a certified plumber and confirmed there is no leak on the property.
“There’s absolutely no damage at all. No leak. No nothing that we can find on this side of the house,” he said as he explained the plumber said all signs point to the water meter or an issue coming from the outside.
He says he’s even replaced an upstairs toilet out of pure paranoia, and still the bill hasn’t gone down.
For such a high bill, he feels there would be a noticeable amount of water damage and says only four adults live in the two-family home he owns. The other people are his wife and two adult children, who live upstairs.
“There is no way four adults are using that much water. You’re telling me it could be it could be a waterspout or something. I think I would have known because that amount of water would cause some sort of sink hole,” he said.
As the Boston 25 crew was sitting with Alicea, the town manager called the crew back to say Alicea’s issue was being investigated and it is protocol for town officials to come out next.
The town manager says most of the town’s water meters were replaced in 2012, but Alicea says his was recently replaced.
Alicea now hopes the town can come out sooner rather than later, especially since he’s been waiting since February.
“They act like $8,000 is like $8 to them like I can just pull that out of my piggy bank and pay for it and even if I did pay that amount what’s to say that that’s fixed,” he said.
With his wife needing special care, Alicea says this is also a bill he can’t afford.
“I have my wife who is disabled under hospice care and the last thing I need is, one, this stress and two, to get cut off because then, I can’t take care of her. I just hope it gets resolved whether I’m at fault or not. If I’m at fault then, OK, I’m at fault but like I said my certified plumber keeps on telling me that it’s not my fault so I would like for them to fix the bill so I could pay my share and go on with my life,” he explained.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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