No water line yet he gets a $30K water bill from the water company

[WLJ]

Man building a home on an empty lot has a water meter install on the main line but there is no line yet running to where the house will be.
He later gets a $30k water bill.
Remember there no water line to the where the house will be at the time.
No leak found anywhere.
He appeals and loses! They say someone could be stealing the water, 305,000 gal in a single month and over 1 mil total. Anyone notice tanker trucks rolling up all the time? Nope.
It gets kicked up higher in the utility and they agree with him that it's a problem on their end (supposedly a leak but where that >1 mil gal supposedly went who knows?) and issues a new much much lower bill of $219.
It then gets kicked up even higher in the utility and they reverse that decision and now he's back on the hook for $30k.
WTF?

 I-Team: Empty Atlanta lot with no water line gets nearly $30K bill, owner appeals and loses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DUf1Gb8dbs

Here's Steve Lehto's take on it.

Property with NO WATER LINE Handed $30K Bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0MsWI5GwSQ

[HankB]

Will they install a water line just so they can shut it off if he doesn't pay?

[WLJ]

Will they install a water line just so they can shut it off if he doesn't pay?

I think There is a line now but when this started there wasn't even a house to connect a line to.

[Brad Johnson]

Lehto makes it sound as if the meter was installed without being connected to the mains, but I think that's incorrect. Water depts generally won't install a meter unless it's connected to the mains. My guess is meter was installed at the mains tap and left for the contractor to connect any future point of use. In other words, there was no line between meter and point of use during the period in question (thus the "no water line" assertion). That's a fairly standard construction practice and the video's stated the guy is a construction contractor.

The city/dept is responsible for lines up to and including the meter but the owner/developer is responsible for all post-meter connections, lines, and usage. If the meter shows usage, onus is on the owner/developer to prove it didn't happen even if it's physically impossible for the usage to occur. Damn near impossible to fight without a mountain of evidence. The case above should be pretty cut and dried, but it won't be. The guy has a long way to go before the city will ever admit it screwed up.

Brad

[sumpnz]

Probably will cost him $30k in lawyers to win.

[Boomhauer]

He ain’t winning *expletive deleted*it in Atlanta

[dogmush]

https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/komatsu-dozers-for-sale-in-georgia/?Category=1025&Manufacturer=KOMATSU&State=GEORGIA

[RoadKingLarry]

Paging Marvin Heemyer, Marvin Heemyer to the Cat yellow courtesy phone.

[HeroHog]

^^^ Where's the Go-Fund-Me?

[MechAg94]

^^^ Where's the Go-Fund-Me?

For his legal bills or for the bulldozer?

[Nick1911]

Nah man, go oldschool: https://youtu.be/xuYt8n2jwpU?t=3115 (tracking tags removed, you're welcome)

I get some weird youtube video recommendations...  Guess it worked, I watched 

[MechAg94]

So how much would the bill be if someone just opened the water connection full and let it dump through the meter all month?  I am curious if someone ran that number.

[Brad Johnson]

So how much would the bill be if someone just opened the water connection full and let it dump through the meter all month?  I am curious if someone ran that number.

If memory serves, a 1" line at 45 PSI will flow somewhere around 40 gallons per minute (someone with  a flow calculator, please correct!). 1.824 million gallons in 30 days.

Brad

[dogmush]

^^

Close enough.  I get 1.728 million gallons in a month.

[Brad Johnson]

^^

Close enough.  I get 1.728 million gallons in a month.

At local rates, that's a $54,000 water bill.

Brad

[dogmush]

Probably a decent puddle too.

[Tuco]

7.48 gallons per cubic foot.
Around here they read the meter in 1000cf increments. The water charge is a $/MCF unit cost, then double the dollars if you're on public sewer.