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Resident reports $833 water bill from running toilet; council pledges review of notification procedures
Summary
Resident Brian Snow told Perrysburg City Council on Jan. 7 that a running toilet while he was on sabbatical produced an $833 bill and tens of thousands of gallons of waste; council members said the utility has remote-reading capability and will review notification practices and follow up with the resident.
Brian Snow, a Perrysburg resident, told Perrysburg City Council on Jan. 7, 2025, that he and his wife returned from a four-month sabbatical and found an $833 water bill after a toilet in their home ran for an extended period.
"I opened up a bill for $833 and I thought instantly that something terrible had happened," Snow said, describing how a neighbor found the toilet running and then shut off the water. Snow said there was no visible property damage but that the usage was far above normal.
Snow told the council he spoke with the Department of Public Utilities and was told the utility attempted to notify the household by leaving a flyer at the door and by calling the account holder’s phone number. Snow said he and his wife did not receive a phone call or voicemail and that the flyer was found after they returned home. He estimated "by my calculations, over 31,000 gallons of water" were wasted during the high-usage period.
In response, the transcript records that the Public Utilities Committee chair (unnamed in the public record) said the department has invested in remote metering and monitoring capabilities intended to detect abnormal usage and to enable outreach to customers when issues arise. The chair said the reason the usage may not have been caught in this instance will be investigated.
The mayor (presiding) told Snow the administration would review the incident internally and bring the matter back to the public utilities committee; the mayor said staff would follow up with Snow and, if appropriate, invite him to a committee meeting. The transcript shows the council asked Snow to confirm his contact information so staff could follow up.
The council did not take a formal vote on any relief or billing adjustment during the meeting; the action on the record is an administrative follow-up and review by staff and the public utilities committee.
Snow provided his street address on the record and identified himself as a Bowling Green State University professor; the transcript does not record a response from the water department director on the public record during the meeting.
