Lakeshore residents want investigation into sky-high water bills

A local lawyer is asking Lakeshore residents who've been charged unusually high water bills to give her a call.

Kimberley Wolfe, of Wolfe Law, says the issue first came to light when a friend told her about a surprising water bill. 

"I asked her to send me her water bill and the comparison values — and they were astronomically high compared to the previous year and even previous months' usage," Wolfe said, who also owns property in Lakeshore.

From there, more people, including Peter Thomson, have also gotten in touch with Wolfe. 

When he received his October water bill, Thomson first thought it was very clearly a mistake. It was a charge of nearly $1,100 for just over a two-month period, with usage more than double than the same period last year. 

This can mean the difference ...  between putting groceries on the table or not.- Peter Thomson, Lakeshore homeowner

When he took it up with the Town of Lakeshore, he said he was told by multiple staff members that he likely had a leak.

"If I'd had a leak for five days, there's no way my water bill would have gone up to $1,000. I would have had to have been watering my lawn all day, every day for the entire two-month period," said Thomson.

His story isn't unique. 

So far, more than 35 residents have sent their bills to Wolfe. She said many had been told that a leak was a likely cause for their high bill. 

"Luckily, I had the means to be able to pay the bill, but there's got to be people out there that don't have those means," Thomson said. "This can mean the difference for them, frankly, between putting groceries on the table or not being able to put groceries on the table, or paying the mortgage or not paying the mortgage."

The similarities are just too much to be a true coincidence, said Wolfe. 

"Every single resident that has sent me their bills, the increases are just out of the realm of possibility that every single human being that has sent me those bills has suddenly sprung a leak in the exact same month at the exact same time," Wolfe said.

Town says nothing is wrong

According to the Town of Lakeshore, there is no evidence to suggest there were any errors or issues with the last billing cycle. 

Speaking generally, and not about any of the individual cases Wolfe has found, a town spokesperson told CBC News "bills are higher due to higher usage."

The last billing cycle covered the summer months, which is when usage typically increases with watering of grass, filling pools and washing cars, they said in an e-mailed statement.

The spokesperson said that a leak of any kind could contribute to high water usage. They also said that for some residents, the last billing cycle may have been longer than what they are normally used to seeing on their bills, as a result of some delayed meter reads. 

For a resident to have their water meter tested, they must pay the cost of the testing — $150 — if the test results show the meter is in proper working order, according to the town. 

"If the meter is faulty, the town will replace the meter at the town's expense," the town spokesperson said. "The town has undertaken several reviews to ensure all is in order."

Finally, the spokesperson said spending more time at home as a result of COVID-19 could lead to an increase in water use.

Hoping to avoid litigation

Wolfe still believes something is wrong. She says her own house was vacant during the billing period and even with no one present in the home, her water usage went up instead of down. 

She said she's working to gather as many bills as she can to determine the necessary approach moving forward. She's waiting for more responses from residents before proceeding with any kind of legal action. 

"My hope is that enough people send it over, that I can establish that this is not just a private leak," Wolfe said. "The first stage is to first see if we can get a more favourable response from the town before proceeding to litigation."

Wolfe would like the town to investigate and figure out if there's an infrastructure problem or an issue with its smart meter system.

Thomson says he's glad that Wolfe has taken up the torch on this and he hopes for a resolution. 

"The nonchalant, dismissive attitude from the municipality has been disappointing, to say the least," he said. "I'm hopeful that the township will recognize that they've got a problem and that they will do something to help compensate those that were over-billed."