Newmarket resident Oliver Vrzovski got an unpleasant surprise when he saw his water bill this month.
After averaging about $200 for Newmarket hydro bills, he said he was shocked when the bill he received this week was more than $14,000.
The town responded to eliminate the bill after Vrzovski and NewmarketToday contacted the municipality. Although he said the town was helpful in its response, he questioned a bill like this getting sent in error.
“The town needs to be more diligent in their bills. You can’t send people bills for this much money,” he said. “It surprises people too much. You have to give them a heads up.”
The bill Vrzovski said he received last week showed 107,000 cubic feet of water usage. In comparison, he said the house in its 30-year life cycle had about 400,000 cubic feet water usage. He said he was informed the town had only recently done a new water reading there in the spring, with previous bills using estimated usage.
“I couldn’t have used that much water even if I tried,” he said.
The municipality said it suspects the situation is due to a leak and an aged, faulty meter.
It said it is installing a new water meter at the Vrzovski's home now, as part of a wider program to upgrade older meters. New meters are supposed to allow for remote readings without a physical visit.
“The town and NT Power acted immediately on this matter when contacted by the resident on Monday,” the municipality said. “Installing a new smart meter, along with a new leak detection program, will eliminate these rare situations in the future.”
Another Newmarket resident dealt with a $2,520 water bill in May. The town had indicated that the meter was working fine but decided to wipe away most of the bill after several discussions with the resident.
The municipality said it is targeting the installation of new meters for 26,000 more households over the next two years. Information on the program is available at newmarket.ca/watermeters.
In the future, Vrzovski suggested that a bill this high should automatically trigger some review or action.
“It’s a little callous to send a bill to somebody for this much money and really scare them.”
