Leak in hose costs homeowner $10,000

BELLEVUE, Wash. – A leak in a hose running to the boat lift at a Yarrow Point home sent enough water to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools into Lake Washington, saddling the homeowner with a $10,000 water bill.

Leslie Schofield had no idea so much water had gone to waste until the city notified her that she had used 1.4 million gallons in the two-month period that ended in mid-April.

She tried to get the city to adjust the bill, but after months of back-and-forth, the city told her no this week.

Schofield argued that a meter reader should have noticed and alerted her that her water usage was unusually high in February.

The city’s policy, however, is to alert a customer only when their usage is the highest it has ever been. That wasn’t the case in February, said Brad Miyake, city utilities director.

Schofield urged the city to let her pay wholesale rates for the wasted water, but officials said no to that, too.

A staff report to the City Council on Monday night said selling Schofield the 1.4 million gallons at a discounted price would “create an inequity and precedent for future and past leaks.”

“We really feel bad for her,” Miyake said. “It’s really unfortunate. But our policy is very straightforward.”

The city is letting Schofield pay the bill in $1,000 installments every two months. She’s paid three so far.