Indiana vet selling home after accumulating $12,000 in mystery water bills since January
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WKRC) — An Indiana woman is selling her home after she accumulated thousands in water and sewage bills since January.
According to WTHI-TV, 81-year-old Janet Engler, an army veteran who works as a full-time educator, is selling her house after she was set back more than $12,000 in water and sewage bills since January.
When speaking to the station, Engler said her usual monthly water bill is around $160 to $200. She told the outlet that she knew something wasn’t right when she was billed more than $1,400 in January.
“It was due on January 17, and it was for 265,000 gallons of water. They said I was using over 8,000 gallons of water a day,” Engler told the station.
WTHI noted that 265,000 gallons is approximately the volume of ten large backyard swimming pools.
Engler told reporters with the station that her sewage bill also soared to more than $5,000 for one month and rise to more than $8,000 by March, with her three-month total for water-related charges adding up to about $12,000.
The 81-year-old told WTHI that she contacted her provider, Indiana American Water, and said the company sent a technician to the home to check for leaks and change the meter.
According to the station, the technician found no issues and said the readings must be correct.
Engler hired a plumber who works with veteran, who also found no visible issues, the outlet reported.
The plumber told Engler that a problem could lie “beyond the meter,” however, and recommended having an excavator investigate further underground, per WTHI.
Engler told the outlet that American Water disagreed, with the company allegedly telling her “your plumber and you are incorrect. The meter is right, and you just have to pay the bill.
The 81-year-old spoke to officials with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, local law firms and the City of Terre Haute, but was unable to get help with the situation.
WTHI spoke to an Indiana American Water spokesperson, who said the company had followed state guidelines when investigation the situation and found no equipment errors or leaks at the property. The company added that it has offered Engler payment assistance options to ease the financial burden.
The mayor of Terre Haute, Brandon Sakbun, told WTHI’s reporters that the city could work with Engler, but said it has limited control when private utility companies are involved.
Engler told the outlet that she’s ready to move on, and has listed her home for sale. She has since moved out and is living with her family in an Airbnb while she searches the market for a new house, per the station.
“No one needs to go through all this and find out at the end, ‘Oh, you must have used the water. There’s nothing we can do about it,’” Engler told WTHI.