Resident asks board to forgive thousands in water charges after county failed to reach him about major leak

A Marion County resident urged commissioners on Tuesday to reduce his utility bill after a major irrigation leak pumped hundreds of thousands of gallons before county staff shut off service.

Andrew Goldberg told the board that Marion County Utilities discovered a flow of roughly 22 gallons per minute at his property on Jan. 29 but only placed a door hanger and did not call, text or email him; he says the meter continued running until Feb. 7 and seeks credit for the water used after county discovery and full abatement of sewer charges for that period. "Leaving a door hanger for a 31,000-gallon-per-day leak is like leaving a note on a burning building instead of calling the fire department," Goldberg said.

Utilities staff described the county's existing billing-adjustment process under Ordinance 905 and said they had already reduced the resident's original $3,300 charge by applying a lower usage tier and reducing sewer fees, bringing the balance to about $1,621 and offering a payment plan. County staff acknowledged a missed follow-up after the door hanger and told the board they can pursue ordinance or policy changes that allow different notification methods or targeted bill relief in exceptional cases.

Commissioners directed staff to meet with the resident, review whether the county can adjust notification and billing procedures (including the possibility of a one-time forgiveness or ordinance amendment), and return with recommendations. The resident was advised to keep domestic water on his account in good standing while staff works through the request.