Clermont investigating reported irrigation usage issue that may have caused water bills to double

CLERMONT, Fla. — People living in one Clermont neighborhood say their water bill doubled in the last pay cycle and they’re trying to figure out what caused the spike.

Residents in the Verde Ridge subdivision believe the problem has to do with irrigation water they use for their front lawn.

Dozens of residents there took to social media discussing the problem and discovered their irrigation usage seemed unusually high the last billing cycle.

The city of Clermont is now investigating the issue.

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16-year Verde Ridge resident Tammi Martin said it was sticker shock when she saw her latest utility bill from the City of Clermont.

The bill is dated November 27th and came due December 18th. It said she owed $120 for using 35 thousand gallons to irrigate her lawn.

That is nearly double what she used for irrigation the month before, and ten thousand gallons more than what she used over the same billing period last year.

“We’re like there’s no way. We’ve been watering the same way for the last 16 years. We haven’t changed anything,” said Martin.

Martin said she immediately contacted the city trying to figure out what went wrong.

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A voicemail from a city billing manager said Martin turned on her irrigation an extra 3 times in the last cycle.

That voicemail also said Martin had a minor leak, though the manager said that was not a major contributing factor to the increased usage.

Still, Martin hired an inspector to check out her system.

A representative with Certified Backflow Inc. confirmed to Channel 9, no leaks were detected at Martin’s property earlier in December.

Meanwhile, down the road from Martin, neighbors Max Rodriguez and Chris Burgess said they were experiencing the same issue.

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Rodriguez noted a 6-thousand gallon increase in irrigation usage between his October and November bills.

But Rodriguez claimed he actually used his sprinklers less in the latest pay cycle.

“The timer is set for Wednesdays and Saturdays. That’s the only time we use it,” said Rodriguez.

All three neighbors; Rodriguez, Burgess, and Martin ultimately paid their latest bill ahead of its December 18th due date.

However, they have been trying to understand how to avoid future surprises on their irrigation bill.

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Burgess has collected bills from neighbors and corresponded with the city multiple times via email asking them to investigate the issue.

“Most of us in here are on programmable irrigation systems. So, for all of them to malfunction at the exact same time, for all of us to receive such an increase in our bills just didn’t seem appropriate,” said Burgess.

The city of Clermont said on Thursday that they haven’t identified any issues in their utility infrastructure that would account for the discrepancies, but that they are now investigating the reported issue.

“We do encourage anyone who has a concern with their billed irrigation usage to let us know so we can review their service and get their questions answered,” said a city spokesperson.

That email is: utilitybilling@ClermontFl.org.

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