Family faces $2,500 water bill — for leak not even on their property

[Liberal_in_LA]

Family faces $2,500 water bill — for leak not even on their property
With five young children, a mortgage and uncertain employment, the last thing the Croskey family needed was a broken water line.

Water bills are now a financial crisis for Jessica and Josh Croskey, with their children Isaiah, Alayah, Nevaeh, Emmanuel and Jhordin.

Josh Croskey bought a water key to turn off water last year after a leak was found on a neighbor's property. Auburn provided a $500 credit for the $2,500 in water that leaked but warned that service would be cut off if the family didn't start paying off the balance.

With five young children, a mortgage and uncertain employment, the last thing the Croskey family needed was a broken water line.

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The family was flagged for possible leaks eight months later, and again in January 2010. Last March, the "possible leak" became a certain leak when the meter showed the family had consumed about 547,000 gallons in two months. The family normally consumed from 9,000 to 11,000 gallons every two months.

City utility technicians walked the yard at least twice and couldn't locate the leak, Croskey said. They found a section that appeared to be wetter than the surrounding area. After several hours of digging, there was still no sign of the source. A neighbor who'd had similar problems joined the search, and together they located a pool of water in a neighbor's yard, 2 to 7 feet behind a fence on Croskey's property line.

"Are they saying I should have been looking in my neighbor's yard, too?" Croskey asked, noting the house behind his family's home had been empty all winter.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014295189_waterbill22m.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Rule normally is after the meter, it is the property owners problem

It does seem strange that it goes through his neighbors property.

[tammywammy]

2. I agree that is strange.

I'm wondering where their meter is located. Obviously the leak was after the meter, why didn't they start and the meter and work their way back to their house? And if the line goes through the neighbors yard, you'd assume there is an easement for it.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. I think perhaps they should be fined for giving their children those names

but the water bill does sound a bit excessive.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Some nations restrict names you can give your children

Mixed feelings about that. Some of them are more than a little odd. Had a student named "L-a"(pronounced Ladasha) I know of a guy who gave his Danish born children names that can not be represented in USASCII. They quite literally can not be stored properly in a US computer. They are also US citizens

[Warren DeMontague]

7. I was kidding. But I happen to think "Nevaeh" is practically unforgivable.

Isn't that like a fundy thing? "Heaven" backwards? :shrug:

[tammywammy]

5. That is the most unique spelling of Jordan I've ever seen

Jhordin

[customerserviceguy]

6. What's interesting is that this is in the Seattle area

Water's relatively cheap there, this must have been a pretty massive leak to blow through that much.