ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council asked for a public report from the utility department on Thursday about unusually high water bills many customers have received since last year’s back-to-back hurricanes devastated the area.

What You Need To Know

  • Many residents say they have received unusually high water bills since last year's back-to-back hurricanes 

  • Officials in the utility department say city code only allows for leak detection as a possible remedy 

  • The city has suspended water shut-offs and late fees while the City Council looks to revise the code

  • The City Council will meet again on Feb. 20 to begin adjusting the code to allow more flexibility for unknown causes

City officials said thousands of bills were estimated or delayed because debris was blocking the meter. While customers should have received a three-month average for their estimated bills, department managers acknowledged the billing system is antiquated and does not allow for manual intervention.

Resident Don Lagrone, 77, said his bill went from around $130 per month, to more than $1,500 last October.

“Showed 50,000 gallons of water used. I checked the meter, and the meter wasn’t moving. There is no leak in our system,” he said. “There a lot of people who’ve had this problem and they’ve all gotten very negative responses from the water department.”

Attorney Matthew Weidner said he received a high water bill and was told by the utility department to discover the source of the leak, despite not living in the home since Hurricane Helene hit on Sept. 26.

“It’s outrageous. I went down there myself and what the clerk is telling me is to go hire a plumber, go hire a leak detector,” he said. “I know I don’t need that because it’s been turned off in the street since the day of the flood.”

Weidner said the city should not be forcing cash strapped residents to spend money on a plumber to find a non-existent leak to prevent their water from being turned off.

“The city needs to be forthright about this and come clean with the people about this problem,” he said. “Not have people keep spending money on plumbers and leak detectors.”

City Administrator Rob Gerdes said the reason the utility department advises customers to focus on leaks is because that’s what the city code calls for and it offers no other flexibility.

Council member Gina Driscoll, who asked for the high water bill report, said residents should not be punished for a mistake that could be the city’s fault. She asked for no water shut offs for customers with unusually high bills as the council works to revise the code.

“Do we put a freeze on this right now or do we put a freeze on lock-offs?” Driscoll said. “Until we get this ordinance passed and make this retroactive and that’s going to make things right for people who are begging us for help right now and asking for some mercy. And many of them are not living in their homes.”

Gerdes then committed to suspending water shut-offs and late fees while they revise the code. The City Council will meet again on Feb. 20 to begin adjusting the code to allow more flexibility for unknown causes.