A Fort Lauderdale homeowner is disputing more than $60,000 in water bills after an underground irrigation pipe at the property broke and ran for weeks before anyone noticed. The City of Fort Lauderdale says the meter accurately recorded the water that left the system. But the homeowner, is adamant that the math doesn’t work out.
According to NBC 6 South Florida, Gisel Valdivia is representing the owners of the home, which they bought in 2024. Their water bills had been routine until March 3, when the city emailed to flag unusually high water consumption at the property. The first bill that arrived afterward totalled more than $32,000.
Valdivia had been traveling and shut off the water at the property on March 20 once she returned. An irrigation company she hired found that an underground three-quarter-inch pipe had completely broken, and repaired it on March 27. Valdivia submitted the documentation of the repair to the city on March 30 to request a credit.
Weeks later, a second bill arrived totaling over $60,000. The City of Fort Lauderdale ultimately granted a credit of nearly $30,000, which the city said is the maximum allowed under city ordinance. Valdivia is still being billed for more than $30,000 and has said she will continue to dispute the charges.
How the Bill Got to $60,000
City records cited by NBC 6 South Florida attributed more than one million gallons of water to the irrigation leak between January 24 and February 23. That’s enough to fill approximately 65 residential swimming pools. It more than accounts for the bill Valdivia’s client received, but there’s no explanation as to how so much water leaked before there was a fix.
The second bill reflected another 950,000 gallons recorded after that initial window but before the March 27 repair was completed, which the city said worked out to roughly another 54 pools. In total, the city billed Valdivia for about two million gallons of water tied to the leak, or about 119 swimming pools’ worth.
In a statement provided to NBC 6 and Telemundo 51, the City of Fort Lauderdale said it had reviewed the account and confirmed the meter had accurately recorded the water usage tied to the underground irrigation leak that was later repaired. After receiving the documentation of the repair, the city applied a credit of $29,557.82, which it said was the maximum leak adjustment permitted under city ordinance.
What the City Says
Linda Short, the City of Fort Lauderdale’s finance director, explained that the city uses a tiered billing system meant to encourage water conservation. Its per-gallon rate is designed to continue rising as consumer usage climbs. Short contested that the city can’t waive billing for water that actually left the system, but that it can lower the rate tier the customer is billed at once a leak has been documented and repaired
Valdivia told NBC 6 that, even after the credit, she still owes over $30,000. She doesn’t agree with the math and has no intention of entering into a payment plan with the city. She isn’t alone, either.
Residents who get unusually high water bills can request a review by calling the City of Fort Lauderdale utility department. The city also offers assistance programs and payment plans for qualifying customers. NBC 6 didn’t say whether those programs would apply in Valdivia’s case.