Most people pay minimal water bills, but one Brooklyn woman turned to NY1 For You after she says the city falsely charged her for thousands more than she owed. NY1's Susan Jhun filed the following report.

When Amhalise Morgan does the dishes these days, all she sees is money going down the drain.

"I owe a total of $9,000," says Morgan.

Morgan, a single mother who owns a two-family home in Brooklyn, lives with her two children and two tenants. Her average water bill used to be roughly $200, until March 2008 when it suddenly spiked from $205 dollars to $3,348.

"They said, 'You know, that there must be a problem,' that I must have a leak, which I didn't," says Morgan. "I must have more people in my house, which I didn't. I had one person actually move out."

Morgan says the Department of Environmental Protection sent an inspector out who told her she had a leak and issued a warning notice. Yet Morgan says when she had a plumber come out to fix it, he couldn't find any leaks.

After reporting that to DEP, Morgan says she was told to file a consumer dispute form, which she did to no avail. Then to her surprise, Morgan's bills dropped back down to the range they had been in, exactly one year after they first shot up.

DEP still Morgan responsible for the $9,000 charged during that year.

"I'm a single parent, I can't pay $9,000 worth of water bills that should equal $700. Which is now what they're saying I owe in penalties and late charges, $700," says Morgan.

NY1 contacted DEP to try and get an explanation for the spike in Morgan's bills. When the station asked if Morgan's meter might be broken, a DEP spokeswoman said the agency doesn't believe it's a meter issue. They are not willing to send an inspector out to check Morgan's meter because the last time they did it was accurate and working, according to the spokeswoman.

The DEP representative went on to say that a substantial leak at Morgan's residence caused the enormous spike in her bills and the agency believes its subsequent repair explains the return to normal readings.

However, Morgan says she never had any leaks identified or repaired.

The DEP spokeswoman released this statement that reads: "We believe the charges are valid but this is still going through the dispute resolution process. The customer has been offered a payment agreement and has not appealed the decision. If the customer appeals and the review is found in the customer's favor, then the disputed charges will be modified."

Morgan has since appealed the decision and is waiting to hear back from DEP, hoping she won't have to take a bath for water she says she didn't use.

NY1 will continue to follow this story.

•
If you'd like "NY1 For You" to look into a problem, call our 24-hour helpline at 212-379-3599 or send an email to ny1foryou@ny1.com.