WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A woman in West Columbia says she is dealing with a $2,570 water bill - 48 times higher than she usually sees.
"How do you go from paying $53 a month to $2,570?" Stacy said she asked her landlord and West Columbia's water department.
Stacy said this all started on Feb. 21, when she received a notice from the city water department that she needed to check for a leak after her high meter reading.
"I texted the landlord. I said, 'Hey, look, there's a leak. You need to come check this out.' He said, 'OK, I'll send someone tomorrow,'" she said. "It took five days for him to come out."
Around the same time, she said she got a bill for $2,570 from the city. New19 contacted the landlord, who provided a letter he sent to his tenant to give to the West Columbia water department.
The letter said the leak was fixed around Feb. 27, that it was a $12 fix, and asked the city to give her a credit on the bill.
So Stacy said she called West Columbia's water department to check what was going on and found that water was still flowing until Tuesday, March 12.
Stacy said she had a back-and-forth with the landlord to tell him the water was still flowing, but it's unclear if further action was taken.
"I have children. I have a business I run. It's become too much. I had to go and hurry up and find a new place to live and change my whole world in the last three weeks," Stacy said.
News19 spoke with Billy Cantey, a local landlord-tenant lawyer. He said South Carolina law states that a landlord has 14 days to make a fix.
"Repairs should be done in a timely manner. It is really going to depend on what the repair is and how urgent it is, versus a safety issue, or a health issue. I mean usually within 24 to 48 hours somebody should be on the property to at least address the issue," Cantey said.
Cantey said if it goes past 14 days, a tenant could get out of a lease.
The city of West Columbia said new water meters were installed in the area of Stacy's home at the end of February, but they added that the new meter swaps have not caused leaks in this area.
West Columbia said in part:
"We will work with the customer to set up a payment plan for those needing extra time to pay. Customers finding a leak should promptly address it. The city has been working on a new metering system that will improve efficiency and customer service. Projected completion is summer 2024."
As for what's next, Stacy said she's had to relocate since her water was shut off Tuesday. As for the bill, the city gave her a payment plan, and she now has a year to pay it off.
Stacy added that she doesn't want others to suffer in the same situation.
"If your bills are normally a set amount and you're not changing your habits, your way of life, pay attention to it, be proactive," Stacy said.
Stacy said she hopes to relocate to a new space permanently.