Lifestyle

A Widow in Her 70s Usually Paid a Small Water Bill. Then One Came In at Nearly 80 Times That

By Erica Coleman · November 11, 2026

The new year had not started well for Rosemary, a Fort Lauderdale widow in her 70s who told WPLG Local 10 she had lived in her home for 50 years.

“I cried all morning,” she said.

Her water bills were usually 88 dollars. Then a December bill arrived for 6,930 dollars, about 79 times that usual amount. By the time she spoke with reporter Christian De La Rosa in January 2023, she was looking at a city water bill for over 8,000 dollars, plus a late fee.

“I couldn’t sleep at all last night. I’m just a nervous wreck,” she said.

She told the station she had called the city to complain and had gone in person to the utility department. She was told an investigation would take three months. She was asked to hire a sprinkler company to check for leaks. That turned up nothing. The city checked her meter, she said, and also found nothing. What she did get was a penalty on the bill.

After she called the city again and a supervisor told her to call a leak detection company, she called Local 10. “I just don’t want no other widowed woman to go through something like this because it affects your health,” she said.

The next morning, a third technician came to the house and found a leak underground. The city then told the station she would not be on the hook for the huge bill. A city spokeswoman said that once a professional identified the leak, Fort Lauderdale was able to credit the majority of the amount with a leak adjustment available to customers in that situation.

“You calmed my nerves,” Rosemary told the reporter, saying the help had eased her anxiety because she had not known how to handle it. You can watch the report in WPLG Local 10’s video on YouTube.

The spokeswoman also said that if any customer notices an unusually high bill, they should contact the city’s utility department right away and request an investigation.

Fort Lauderdale still advertises a way to do that. The city publishes an Application for High Use Billing Adjustment and, in a city news post, explains two paths: a leak adjustment if a repaired leak caused the spike (proof of the repair is required) and a one-time unexplained-consumption adjustment if no cause is found. In both cases, the city says it recalculates the bill at the lowest tier rate. The same post notes that hidden leaks, including broken sprinkler heads and pipes under sinks or inside walls, can send a bill sharply higher before anyone sees the water.

If your water bill suddenly jumps, a few steps can help, in Fort Lauderdale or anywhere else.

Call the utility the same day and ask for an investigation, a meter check and whatever leak or high-use adjustment the company offers. Ask what paperwork you will need, such as a plumber’s invoice.

Look for a hidden leak while you wait, including toilets, irrigation lines and pipes that are out of sight. Rosemary’s leak was underground, which is why the first checks missed it.

Keep copies of every bill, photo and phone call, and do not ignore a late fee or a shutoff notice while a review is pending.

This article is for general information and is not legal or financial advice. Details of Rosemary’s bills and the city’s adjustment are from WPLG Local 10’s January 2023 report. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.