Toledo woman says water bill doubled even though she was away from home

Old West End resident Lesa Lockford has lived in her home for 25 years, so she’s paid a lot of water bills.

But when the sole occupant of the house opened her bill last month to see the amount owed had doubled, she was shocked, especially since she wasn’t even home.

“I was absolutely stunned,” Ms. Lockford told The Blade. “This bill was more than twice of what I normally pay.”

Ms. Lockford received her public utilities bill for service from June 28 to July 30, but she was house-sitting for a friend from June 27 and returned July 27.

Ms. Lockford is the only person who lives in her house, but while she was away, she had friends water her plants, and she has an automatic sprinkler system that waters her lawn about three times a week. The sprinkler system has a water meter attached to it