Portland family asking for city’s help after receiving $17,000 water bill

Published 9:07 am Thursday, March 21, 2024

A North Portland family is dealing with a $17,000 water bill and they’re looking to the city for help.

The family told KOIN 6 News they moved back to the home to help their mother-in-law with expenses and then received that massive water bill in the mail. They said they just want this to be resolved quickly.

The family, who wished to remain anonymous, received a bill from the Portland Water Bureau, stating they owed the city just over $17,000 by March 21. The city claims they used just over 1,600 cubic feet of water for the last three months.

“It’s pretty much two Olympic-sized pools so about 612,000 gallons of water which is not coming from us — six-people household,” one family member said. “There’s no way — we would have to be filling up trucks and trucks every day.”

The family said their last bill was just over $500.

KOIN 6 News is a Pamplin Media news partner. Read their full story here.