Soggy surprise: Broward man says bad water meter sent his bill past $500 a month

A Pembroke Pines man is seeking a refund after his monthly water bill skyrocketed after a new meter was installed this year.

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Rafael Rodriguez said he was shocked when his monthly water bill jumped from approximately $150 to more than $600 in May. Over a three-month period, the total reached over $1,600.

“The bill in total came out to roughly over, in three months, $1,600, which is way above what I’m used to paying, and it had us dipping into savings just to cover costs,” Rodriguez said.

The utility bills indicated his family of five had used 88,000 gallons of water in three months. His family typically uses about 21,000 gallons in that same period.

“Freaked out first, and then after that, I immediately got to documenting. Like my first reaction is to document and capture everything,” he said.

Suspecting the meter was faulty, Rodriguez ran his own tests. He focused on his toilet, which should use about 1.3 gallons per flush. He recorded video footage of the meter’s dial spinning 87 times, meaning the meter was logging 8.7 gallons per flush instead of 1.3.

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On Friday, the city swapped in a new meter, which Rodriguez says is reading accurately. He filled a one-gallon pitcher, and the meter registered exactly one gallon.

“The reading now, I believe it was at 956 gallons. I’m now seeing it at exactly 957 zero, exactly one gallon,” Rodriguez said.

With the new meter working, Rodriguez hopes the city will reimburse him for the overcharges.

“Anything that would at least [provide] compensation and that money back based on what we’re seeing now versus what was with the old meter is what we’re looking for,” he said.

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The city of Pembroke Pines has not yet responded to requests for comments.

This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.