{"id":449414,"date":"2026-11-06T15:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T15:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/449414\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T15:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T15:14:08","slug":"florida-mother-gets-896-water-bill-cut-to-245-after-plumber-finds-no-leaks-and-reporters-intervene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/449414\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida mother gets $896 water bill cut to $245 after plumber finds no leaks and reporters intervene"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Fort Lauderdale mother received hundreds of dollars in relief after an unexpected $896 water bill prompted her to seek help from a plumber and local news station.<\/p>\n

Here’s what to know<\/p>\n

Shana Roberts, a registered nurse and single mother of three, typically received water bills between $111 and $140, according to WSVN’s 7Investigates<\/a>. But her next bill in August was eight times the previous month’s charge.<\/p>\n

The unexpected charge came after a notice left at her home in mid-August explained that Fort Lauderdale had replaced her old meter with a smart meter. Roberts had expected a switch to a smart meter to simplify meter readings.<\/p>\n

“This month, I get a bill for $896,” Roberts told reporters. “I have never had that high of a bill, I mean, I’m not watering the whole community.”<\/p>\n

More background<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale’s smart-meter rollout involved replacing roughly 65,000 existing meters. The city said Roberts’ usage had already risen by the time it replaced her meter.<\/p>\n

The city’s email responding to Roberts’ question about the charge listed running or leaking toilets and faucets as possible explanations.<\/p>\n

Hiring a plumbing company to investigate did not give Roberts an obvious explanation for the increase.<\/p>\n

“Her toilets are not running randomly. Her meter also did not move for over an hour,” the company’s paperwork stated.<\/p>\n

The city’s response to her adjustment application involved a lengthy wait, with payment still expected in the meantime. She had submitted the plumber’s findings along with her request.<\/p>\n

“‘We will get back to you, 30 to 60 days. In the meantime, pay your bill,'” Roberts said.<\/p>\n

What can be done?<\/p>\n

Unable to afford the nearly $900 charge, Roberts contacted 7Investigates. The city approved the request the day after 7Investigates contacted Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n

The relief came through an “Unexplained high water consumption adjustment,” reducing her total balance to $244.90.<\/p>\n

A meter test is an option for residents who question their meters’ accuracy, according to Fort Lauderdale. Customers will receive an account credit for excess charges and have a replacement meter installed if testing finds their meter faulty, the city says.<\/p>\n

The lower balance has not ended Roberts’ concerns about another surprise bill. She still wants someone from the city to inspect her meter. “I have enough on my plate. I don’t need that issue to be another headache.”<\/p>\n

Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n

Other residents have also questioned unexpectedly high water bills.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A Florida homeowner’s bill soared before the utility reported 1,400 gallons in 10 hours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A Florida renter discovered a $30,198 water bill<\/a> tied to 1 million gallons after shutoff.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In Fowler, California, a $40 bill became $3,700<\/a>, and officials found 900 faulty meters.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In Los Angeles, a $9,200 water bill<\/a> hit a couple whose meter remained broken.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Groveland, Florida, may delay a rate hike<\/a> after three water outages prompted residents’ credit requests.<\/p>\n

Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Cool<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Fort Lauderdale mother received hundreds of dollars in relief after an unexpected $896 water bill prompted her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[558,249,251,250,69993,320,173601,126111],"class_list":["post-449414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-business","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-hack","tag-home","tag-home-utilities-hack","tag-yahoo-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}