CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga.,None — A big water bill has left a Jonesboro neighborhood without water in 95-plus degree weather.
That's a terrible problem. I cant imagine it being any worse than that, Marias Mobile Home Park owner Vicki Holland told Channel 2s Eric Philips.
Residents of Marias Mobile Home Park in Clayton County are struggling without water because of an unpaid bill brought on by a leak, and some don't really understand why.
Holland said in April she started receiving water bills from the Clayton County water authority of $4,000-plus a month, much more than she would expect for the 11 families that live there.
The water company is wanting to bill me and in turn, wanting me to bill these people so that I end up being the middle man, Holland said.
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The county said that's how it works. They read one main meter and send one bill to the property owner. Over the past several months, despite efforts to fix water leaks, that bill has grown to nearly $13,000. Though some tenants have made small contributions toward it, the water was shut off for lack of payment.
A water authority official said he was confident that the meter is reading correctly.
Holland said her tenants cant afford to pay a fraction of the massive bill, and she cant afford to cover it either.
My tenants are at the bottom of it. They're the ones sitting here with no water, Holland said.
Holland wants the county to step in and help find the problem, but the county said the mobile home park is private property and the owners responsibility. They have offered to turn the water back on if she can come up with about $1,000 as down payment on the balance. So far, she's struggling to do that.