CALLAWAY — The Callaway Commission will consider Tuesday what to do about Chris Coffey’s unusually high water bill.
In October, Coffey reportedly used 454,830 gallons of water, amassing a bill of $1,974.
“It is an astounding number,” City Manager Michael Fuller said. “It makes me wonder if he was filling up swimming pools or something.”
Coffey responded by writing a letter to Callaway Mayor Thomas Abbott that something must be amiss with the water meter.
That “is equivalent of two years of water usage and it is nearly impossible to use that amount of water in one month’s time,” Coffey wrote.
Fuller said the Public Works Department checked the meter at the end of October and it was functioning properly.
“The meter doesn’t lie,” Fuller said. “It’s a reliable piece of equipment.”
Coffey has an irrigation system and Fuller suspects there may have been a leak of some sort that did not affect the amount of water that went through the meter. He added that the commission could have Coffey pay the bill in installments of $55 each month.
