Broken pipe during Atlanta road project leads to $8,500 water bill dispute

ATLANTA — An Atlanta couple is disputing an $8,500 water bill they say was caused by a broken pipe that went unrepaired for weeks during a state road paving project in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood.

Andrew Ericson said the leak began Nov. 4, around the same time the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) started paving Peters Street. Water flowed continuously from a pipe near his property into the street, he said, and multiple pipes in the area appeared to break at the same time.

“It was just a continuous stream of water that was flowing from the water meter into the street,” Ericson said.

Ericson said he reported the issue early to the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, but crews did not inspect the problem for about six weeks.

“They did not look at it until six weeks later, in the middle of December,” he said.

By the time the city responded, Ericson said his water bill had surged to $8,500 — far above his typical monthly bill of about $250-$260. He and his wife also paid $2,000 out of pocket to repair the pipe themselves.

When the couple requested financial relief, the city denied their claim, stating in a letter that the water meter had functioned properly. Ericson said that misses the point.

“It was the amount of time that it took for them to come out to repair it,” he said.

Now, the couple is appealing to an independent review board, seeking to have the bill reduced or dismissed and to be reimbursed for repair costs. Ericson argues the situation amounts to negligence.

“It’s unfortunate we have to deal with what is essentially negligence,” he said.

Other neighbors in the area have faced similar issues and, in some cases, have had their bills adjusted, according to Ericson.

11Alive has reached out to both the City of Atlanta and GDOT for comment but has not yet received a response.