Politics & Government

Buckhead Woman Facing $9,000 Water Bill

A nearly year long ordeal over increasingly high water bills has a Ridgewood Heights resident scratching her head and guarding her wallet.

What would you do if you opened your most recent water bill and discovered over $9,000 in charges? One Buckhead woman has been forced to come up with an answer to that question.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that Blayne Beacham, who lives in a three-bedroom cottage in Ridgewood Heights off Moore's Mill Road, has been fighting with the Department of Watershed Management for months over increasingly high bills that are normally less than $100.

The first questionable bill Beacham received was for $497 in July of 2011. Fast forward to April 2012 and Beacham received a bill for $1,155, plus $1,430 in late charges. Earlier this week she opened a bill for $9,224.40 — $2,638.68 worth of past charges, and $6,705.72 worth of new charges.

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Have you had any trouble with unusually high bills from the Department of Watershed Management or know someone who has? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Throughout the ordeal, Beacham has appealed the bills and hired several handymen and certified plumbers to confirm that no leaks are present. Meanwhile, watershed officials maintain that nothing is wrong with her meter after several checks. On June 15, the Department of Watershed Management finally installed a a data logger to measure hour-by-hour usage to help find unusual spikes in usage. Reports of that data will not be available until mid-July, however.

Find out what's happening in Buckheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Watershed Management is currently trying to determine what the problem is, spokeswoman Janet Ward told the AJC.

At her appeals hearing on April 30, Watershed Management officials told Beacham any relief would apply to the most recent two months. 

What is your opinion of the city water service and the rates associated with it?

 

Many Buckhead residents have over high water bills the last few years (although, the concern is admittedly not over bills this abnormally high).

In a recent , Atlantans gave their opinions of city services. The lowest ratings went the city’s code enforcement services, sidewalk maintenance, pothole repair and the cost of city water service (receiving only 11-percent positive responses).


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