MONTEREY, Calif. - A Monterey Peninsula resident is upset about a $6,000 water bill from California American Water.
George Gergawy said he's heard about the large bills for other Cal-Am customers and always thought it wasn't real, until he opened his mailbox and saw the bill for $6,067.33. And, the home was empty last month after moving out.
According to Gergawy, the past 5 years the water bills at 747 Lyndon Street have been steady, between $15 and $16 dollars.
"Since I recevied that bill, I couldn't sleep," said Gergawy. He added, "I'm not responsible for that because I never used that water and the valve was off."
After putting his house up for sale, an inspector with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District checked all the pipes in his house, and nothing wrong was discovered. The MPWMD report was dated January 2, falling right in the middle of the billing period of this high bill. Gergawy said if anything was wrong with any pipes, it would have been discovered.
"I never thought this would happen to me. I didn't believe it, but now I believe it has happened," he told Central Coast News.
Cal-Am cannot comment on specific cases, but they said their meters are reliable. Cal-Am is on a tier rate system, meaning the more water you use, the higher rate you receive for the amount of water you are using.
If you have received a high water bill, please call 646-3205 to resolved the issue.
More information about each rate can be found on Cal-Am's website.
