Palm Desert man receives bill for 44,000 gallons of water he says he didn’t use

Palm Desert resident, 70-year-old Jay Engel, says he got quite a surprise when he opened his water bill for the month of March.

“I’m angry, I’m really angry,” said Engel.

His water usage for March totaled 59 CCF, which is more than 44,000 gallons of water.

It’s a big spike compared to his totals for February and January, which totaled 3 CCF and 4 CCF respectively, and way over his usage, by roughly the same amount, for the same months in 2015.

Engel says he didn’t use all that water in March, and says he has no idea why he got billed for it. He shares a relatively small home with his cats, and the place does not have a pool.

“There is one person here and four kitty cats. The kitty cats don’t know how to operate any water, and I take two showers a day and that is it,” said Engel.

After receiving his bill, the Los Angeles native says he contacted customer service at CVWD to dispute the total of $505.30, which includes more than $400 in penalties.

Over the course of several days, Engel called the utility, received letters of correspondence, and he even appeared before a CVWD mediation board.

He says he also hired a plumber who checked out the pipes and faucets at his house, who concluded “there is no explanation for the high water bill”.

The water district, as part of their investigation, sent a technician to Engel’s house to check the meter, and to look for leaks, and everything checked out fine.

“My aim is to expose this, and maybe if I expose this, other people will come forward having happened the same thing,” said Engel.

Frustrated, looking for help, and believing he was intentionally overcharged, Engel contacted CBS Local 2, and asked us to stand for him. I contacted CVWD on his behalf, and a representative told me about a policy which applies to every district customer.

“We offer a billing adjustment once every five years for exceptionally high bills caused by leaks or other accidents,” said CVWD representative Heather Engel, who is not related to Mr. Engel.

“Mr. Engel has already taken advantage of this courtesy adjustment within the past five years,” said the district representative.

Mr. Engel received an adjustment last September.

That being the case, the utility says he will be held responsible for his March bill. Engel insists he won’t pay the bill.

When asked what he might do next, Mr. Engel responded by saying, “I’m not sure; make as much trouble as I possibly can.” Mr. Engel told us the charge for his water use in April totaled $11.40.

Unfortunately for him, the district announced on May 24th it will no longer assess penalty fees on customers for excessive water use, beginning June 1st.

The fees are being eliminated because of improvements in the state water supply.