Midtown resident hit with $1,400 water bill that city told him was caused by private leak

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Costa Mavridis and his girlfriend live in Midtown and told ABC13 their water bill from the city of Houston has been less than $100 per month for a decade.

He said that continued to be the case this year until they received their bills for May and June.

"(They totaled) $1,400," he said.

Mavridis provided ABC13 with a copy of his bill from July that shows an outstanding balance of $1,362.90. It also showed a graph indicating their water usage was 2,000 gallons in March, 19,000 in April, and 35,000 in May before going down to 3,000 in June.

"I called the city right away, and they suggested I submit an unusually-high bill request," Mavridis explained. "This month, they reported that my request was denied, and an automatic charge was taken out of my account."

He told Eyewitness News the city denied his request because they determined the culprit of the high bill was a private leak that wasn't their responsibility.

Mavridis said, however, they made no repairs to their home from May to June that would have caused their bill to return to a normal amount.

"I'm not sure what happened," he said of the bill going back to normal. "But it wasn't me."

ABC13 reached out to public works with Mavridis' concerns, and they said they're opening an administrative review of his account and will send a technician to his home this week.

SEE ALSO:

Houston family stunned by nearly $24K water bill following city's replacement of faulty devices

'It's really stressful': Woman concerned over unresolved $2K water bill from City of Houston

Dysfunctional device causing massive, incorrect water bills in west Houston is part of bigger issue

For news updates, follow Chaz Miller on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.