The owner of a Toronto home is facing a $4,000 water bill, which the city says is likely due to a faulty fixture running constantly over several months.
Avra Weinstein lives in Prince Edward Island, but rents out the main floor of a home she owns in Toronto. Only two people live in the home, she told CTV Toronto's Pat Foran.
She received the hefty bill for a period of three months, between September and November of 2014.
"There was no way they were using $4,000 worth of water. I mean, there's no pool, there was no leak that was in evidence. There's nothing we can attribute this situation to," Weinstein said.
"I can't find any reason why this would have happened."
She said there were issues with water pressure at the time, but that no one could figure out what caused the problem at the time.
Weinstein contacted city officials, who said they'd sent two high-consumption warning letters before the bill. Staff said they also offered to conduct a water meter test, but the test never took place.
After receiving the bill, Weinstein asked the City of Toronto to examine her water meter and investigate other possible problems that would cause high-consumption readings.
Anthony Fabrizi, manager of revenue services for Toronto's utility and parking operations, told CTV Toronto he believed the water bill was accurate.
"The property had continuous water consumption 24 hours a day for several months. This is usually an indicator of a faulty fixture such as a running toilet," he said in a statement.
Weinstein said no faulty fixtures were found in the home. The pressure problem went away after November, and her bills went back to normal, though she said she's not sure why. She said the city still expects her to pay the bill, though a source for the high consumption was never found.
The city sends out approximately 500 high water usage warning letters each week, which warn homeowners to act quickly.
Toronto has programs to help people with high bills due to leaks, but the home must be an owner's principal residence, so Weinstein doesn't qualify.
