GULFPORT, Fla. (WFLA) — People in Gulfport said their water bills have doubled, and in some cases tripled, this month, despite not being home to use the water because of the storms.
Patrick Barrett said his water bill showed where last month they said he used 2,200 gallons, and it jumped to 4,200 this month.
“Which doesn’t make any sense because I was here, 25% less than normal,” Barrett said. “We evacuated for the storm. We were gone for five days. We came back. Our usage was reduced due to the boil water notice. And then I look at my bill, my water and sewer were about double what it was last month.”
8 On Your Side went to the city to ask where the increases are coming from. City Manager James O’Reilly said there was no correlation between high water bills and damage from the hurricanes.
“Well city council levied an 8% utility cost increase effective Oct. 1,” O’Reilly said. “Because of our cost associated with the purchase from the city of St. Petersburg.”
The city confirmed the increases are separate from the consumption.