BOISE, Idaho — Statistically, water bills go up during the summer months, but when Mike Rogers got his latest water bill from Suez Water, he was shocked.
"Normally it's around $60 a month in the summer," Rogers said. "[But this one is] for $338 and according to them I'm up about 388%... which is only possible with a leak, and a leak that big should be noticeable."
The Boise Bench resident checked his crawl space and everywhere around his house for water, but has not found anything.
"The crawlspace is bone dry," he said. "It's 2,100 gallons a day. There's gotta be water everywhere, but there was not."
He also checked to see if his meter was spinning, in case of a line break, but came up short.
And he is not alone. Dozens of Boise residents have been voicing frustration on the neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor about their high water bills.
Rogers called Suez to about his unusually high bill, so they sent a service worker to his property while he was at work.
Suez spokesperson Jane Keller said they found that Rogers' meter showed movement.
"If he had turned off everything in the home, that's indicating there's a leak," Keller said. "[There is] probably a rather large leak on his property."
Keller said that from winter to summer, water usage in the Treasure Valley increases by 60 million gallons, so there could be a number of things wrong if someone sees a major increase in their bill.
"It could be a leak, it could be a leak in your sprinkler system, it could be a faulty meter, it could be that someone was just using a lot of water that month," she said.
The cause of Rogers' high bill is still unknown, but Keller said if a Suez customer's bill is $150 over what is was for the same period last year, and the cause is determined to be a leak, Suez does offer partial reimbursement.
"Sometimes the first indication of a leak at your house is the bill that you get in the mail - that sucks to have that happen," she said. "[Rogers] is eligible for a leak adjustment of 50% of any of the water used above that $150 exceedance."
Suez is still working with Rogers to get to the bottom of his bill.
"I went ahead and paid them, but it's just weird," Rogers said.
Suez serves 230,000 homes in the Treasure Valley, but only has 15 customer service representatives answering calls. Keller said that it might take a little time, but if a customer calls, a representative will get back to you.
Suez also offers free meter and leak checks.
"If you have an issue, you need to call us so we can come help you," Keller added.
The Suez customer service line is (208) 362-7304.