An Australian man was left to pay a $15,000 water bill after a council claimed he had consumed more than 35,000 liters a day for the past 104 days.
Anthony lives alone in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, with a modest garden, a fish pond and a workshop out back.
He said his bill is normally around $290 and he uses about 130 liters of water a day, which is the amount Sydney Water estimates the average person uses.
Anthony was completely surprised when he received a water bill of $15,645.86 from Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
Anthony (pictured right) lives alone in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales in a modest house with a modest garden, fish pond and workshop at the back.
“With a $15,500 water bill, they can go and get robbed,” he said. A current issue.
“I’m not going to pay for it, no way.”
A bout with cancer has left the local mechanic struggling to communicate, so his father Neil went to a council meeting with his son and tried to speak on his behalf.
“I couldn’t believe it when he showed me the ticket,” Neil said.
‘We are currently at a point where we cannot get any reasonable common sense from the council.
“I said, ‘It has to be the criminal meter,’ and she said, ‘We’ve tried a lot of meters and they’ve all come back positive.’
‘And I said, ‘What’s wrong with this meter?’ and she said, ‘It’ll cost you $50 to get tested, but there won’t be anything wrong with it.’
The council then told the father they would have to pay $50 if they wanted Anthony’s meter tested.
He has received numerous emails from Goulburn Mulwaree Council telling him to prove he had not used as much water.
He is accused of using more than 3.6 million liters of water, which is equivalent to filling two Olympic-size swimming pools or having five taps open all day.
He has received numerous emails from Goulburn Mulwaree Council asking him to prove he had not used that much water, which is the equivalent of filling two Olympic-size swimming pools or having five taps running all day, every day.
Anthony said he received an overdue bill notice ordering him to pay it immediately.
“I got an email saying I could have a payment plan and everything else… like, be realistic,” he said.
“I’m not going to pay for it.”
Neil explained that Anthony uses his own water tank to water his lawn, fill his fish pond and wash his car, saying his son has received a “ridiculous” amount considering he only uses city water for washing and showering.
Anthony has been asked to prepare a detailed letter about his water use, which will be presented at a council meeting later this month.
WhatsNew2Day Australia has contacted Goulburn Mulwaree Council for comment.
