Family faces $2,500 water bill — for leak not even on their property

[The Straight Story]

Family faces $2,500 water bill — for leak not even on their property

With five young children, a mortgage and uncertain employment, the last thing the Croskey family needed was a broken water line.

Fixing the underground pipe cost the Croskeys $900. But it was the water bill from the city of Auburn that turned a bad situation into a financial nightmare: $2,500 for water they didn't even use.

....

The Croskeys say it seems unreasonable to force them to pay for water lost to the leak, especially when it's not clear what the lost water actually cost Auburn ratepayers, and when even the city's technicians couldn't find the leak, which originated in a neighbor's yard.

...

On Feb. 1, Seattle instituted a new policy to give property owners a one-time break for leaky underground pipes located between the street and their building. If they can document the leak and the repair, Seattle will forgive up to 50 percent of the bill that exceeds the average consumption for the property in a given period.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014295189_waterbill22m.html