Gushing Leak Leads To $41,000 Water Bill In Abington

BRISTOL, Pa. (CBS) - The water in Ruby Williams' house from the weekend rains will dry soon enough. It is the water leaking under her Bristol home that worries her.

"That amount of water is enough to fill up three Olympic sized pools," Williams laughed.

The leak started in March and has not stopped since, gushing out at the rate of 750,000 gallons a month. Williams says she could not afford the $3,500 fix.

Now, her water bill stands at $41,000.

"If I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be in this situation," Williams said.

Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. says the leak was on Williams' property, and because Williams set up a payment plan, they had no authority as a public utility to cut off the water or fix the leak.

"The payment plan helps everyone generally," said Tom Geddis, a manager of collections for the water company, "but here, it hurt the situation."

You cannot see the water on Williams' property. It likely drained into an underground creek or water bed. Aqua, Inc. came out to the Merlin Street home this weekend to move their service pipe and make the necessary fix cheaper.

Williams says she is ready to have her water running normally again to bring the leak and this saga to an end.

Aqua, Inc. says they will not charge Williams the full amount of her bill. Instead, they will likely charge her an amount much closer to the monthly average, which is $55 a month.

Reported by Oren Liebermann, CBS 3