DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County woman says she’s being charged thousands of dollars for watering a patch of sod in her yard.
Christa DiBiase says DeKalb County told her she has to pay more than $2,000.
“It was running every day for a couple of months,” she said.
The charge isn’t just for her water usage, she says, but rather for the sewage usage.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln learned DeKalb County bills homeowners for the water that comes out of the drains and for what goes down the drain. It’s categorized as “sewer service based on water usage” on a homeowner’s bill.
“Usually the bill is maybe $50 total,” DiBiase said.
In May, she says she paid roughly $41 for sewage. But by June, that number swelled to more than $700 and July she was flooded with a more than $1,300 dollar charge.
DiBiase told Lincoln she doesn’t understand why the sewage usage is so high since the water went in the yard and not her drain.
The Clark Howard Consumer Action Center says this is a frequent complaint from homeowners.
DeKalb County says even though the water didn’t go down DiBiase’s drain, its system still calculates the usage based on the water consumption.
MORE FROM 2 INVESTIGATES:
- Dissecting Discord: What you need to know about the platform kids are using across the country
- Social Security’s overpayment fixes help many but remain unfinished
- Hacker shows how criminals are stealing your SNAP benefits, and how to protect yourself
The county says homeowners with sprinkler systems should consider getting a separate irrigation meter that reads the usage more accurately and will save homeowners thousands.
Residents can request a special irrigation meter from the Department of Watershed Management to water lawns and gardens. A $600 deposit is required and is returned when the meter is no longer needed.
If an irrigation meter is installed in accordance with DeKalb County requirements, the customer will be charged the irrigation rate for all water flowing through the irrigation meter.
The county says if DiBiase has a special irrigation meter, their sewer charges would have been 29% less, $8.56 per 1,000 gallons instead of $12.02 per 1,000 gallons.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]