High water bills plaguing Apex residents

Josh Chapin Image
Tuesday, September 17, 2019

APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- Dozens of people in Apex are getting water bills that they say just don't add up.

"It was two and a half times more than my typical bill," said Renatas Jakushokas, who has lived in Apex for two years for his wife and two children. "It was unusual."

Usually, he is charged for 10,000 gallons of water use but this past month, he got charged for using 26,000 gallons.

Another woman said she has averaged four to five thousand gallons per month and this past month was charged for 48,000 gallons of use.

Her bill went from $300 to more than $1,000.

Renatas saw all the complaints on the Next Door app and started compiling the figures. He helped write the letter sent to town officials.

Apex said it doesn't see a glitch or specific pattern with their metering or other technology. They said most examples so far have been on the customers' end with "toilet leaks and more frequent grassing watering during the summer months.

"If I had used 49,000 gallons, I think I would've known," said the woman noted above. "I would've had a major leak, I would've heard something. I would've had flooding somewhere. It doesn't make sense."

The town said it cannot talk about specific accounts but they acknowledge they've gotten a number of calls from folks concerned about their accounts.

They say they are working with people on this on a case by case basis.