Upset Florida woman pays nearly US$500 water bill with pennies

A woman in Deltona, Fla., paid her US$493 water bill in pennies on Feb. 26 to protest what she claims are “grossly inflated” utility bills.

Dana McCool told Global News that the pennies were a peaceful way to show the public that the water bills in her community are too high.

“The pennies were my protest and attempt to bring this problem out into the open so that residents can ban together,” McCool said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The pennies were my protest and attempt to bring this problem out into the open so that residents can ban together," McCool said.

The Deltona resident shared several Facebook Live videos showing her entering the Deltona Water Department and paying her bill using a small wheelbarrow load of pennies.

She claims that some of the other residents in her community have received water bills as high as US$700. McCool said the Delton Water Department told them that the increase is due to a “leak.”

But McCool says her and other residents have hired professionals to check for leaks. She claims no leaks were found.

Global News reached out to the City of Deltona’s water department. A spokesperson said high bills are typically attributed to irrigation use or leaks of some kind.

The department says they have been in contact with McCool and her husband and say that the couple had problems with their irrigation system. The department said they provided them with several leak adjustments in the last couple of years.

“Customers with high usage, whether it be leaks or irrigation, will have high bills,” Crystal Harris from the City of Deltona wrote in an email response.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Customers with high usage, whether it be leaks or irrigation, will have high bills," Crystal Harris from the City of Deltona wrote in an email response.

“Deltona Water actively encourages customers to reach out to staff when they have questions about their bill. This includes questions about specific usage. Staff is trained on the most common causes of irregular usage and walks each customer through a step-by-step process to eliminate potential reasons to zero in on the cause and also to demonstrate the accuracy of the metering equipment through various tests,” she added.

Nonetheless, McCool says she wants the department to take a closer look at “at faulty meters, accounting systems or human error” to explain the “increasing” water bills.