High water bills stun owners of vacant, gutted homes in St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Homeowners in St. Petersburg's Shore Acres community are dealing with homes gutted after recent hurricanes, which is why high water bills are leaving owners puzzled and frustrated.
'It's really frustrating'
What they're saying:
Jack Cleary’s Shore Acres home is vacant and down to its bare bones. His taps are bone dry.
"Where's this water at? It's not here," he said.

Jack Cleary is among the homeowners in Shore Acres who say their water bills are high, even though their homes are vacant and gutted.
Despite that, Cleary says he got an $800 water bill this month.
"The immediate reaction was like rubbing my eyes to make sure it was right. Then it was anger," he said.
Cleary said he never completely shut off utilities because he hoped a contractor would be able to start working on rebuilding his home.

Jack Cleary is among the homeowners in Shore Acres who say their water bills are high, even though their homes are vacant and gutted.
What's being done?
Big picture view:
Cleary's irregularly high water bill is not unique. Dozens of his neighbors said they have the same issue. Many are frustrated with the lack of action when they call the water department.
"It's like hitting your head against the brick wall. It's like you're going nowhere and you're going nowhere slow. It's really frustrating," Cleary said.
The city tells us in some cases it had to estimate bills they couldn’t read following the hurricanes, and rates did go up in October.
READ: 95-year-old St. Pete resident fighting $500 ‘erroneous’ water bill
What you can do:
If you have a leak, you can file for a leak adjustment and you can file a petition with the utility bill review committee – but it doesn’t explain many of the issues customers are having.
"The city is the common denominator. We're all individual homeowners and we all have the same issue. And it's only due to the city. I can't tell you what the issue is. Faulty readers or just dated infrastructure? That's their job to figure that out. I just know for a fact I don't have any leaks here and I don't have anywhere that can draw water," Cleary said.
Pinellas County Commissioner Vince Nowicki has been in contact with city administration about the issue.
READ: Manatee rescued from cold waters in St. Pete recovering at ZooTampa
"The city is doing a lot of good work after the two hurricanes devastated the area. I hope the administration will continue to look into each obscure water bill and quickly provide relief to residents," said Nowicki.
FOX 13 has received dozens of emails from customers with similar problems. We are forwarding them all to city and county leaders, trying to get answers to the ongoing issues.
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