SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Michael Mudurian served in the Air Force and then settled into his Point Loma home with an ocean view 50 years ago.
For decades, the lifelong bachelor said he had a pretty high water bill because he loved to water his garden and nourish the lush, green grass in his front yard.
However, the grass became dead and brown because Mudurian couldn't afford his water bill; it was a stunning $28,500 in August after the city's Public Utilities Department had held his bill for over a year.
Mudurian said he tried explaining that it was incorrect to the city's Public Utilities Department, which has had a history of issuing incorrect bills to its 282,000-plus customers.
He said the city didn't give him much help.
"They said 'You owe it, and you will pay it,'" he said.
So, he contacted Team 10, which previously investigated the water department for its billing problems and big raises to staff while customers saw double-digit rate increases.
Two days after Team 10 contacted the water department, the city issued him a roughly $25,000 correction — and an apology.
“I don’t know how much more I can thank you because you not only basically saved me the money, but you made a large institution own up to one of their problems," he said.
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Bill skyrockets
Mudurian said for nearly a half-century, he never had problems with his water bills until his automatic payments of $200 to $300 every two months were suddenly stopped in March 2023.
That's when the San Diego Public Utilities Department began holding his bills.
A city spokesman said Mudurian's water meter had registered "unusually high usage."
The department has a policy of holding a customer's bill when it detects water usage that is significantly outside the typical range of usage.
The city then conducts an investigation.
However, that can last months or more than a year, ultimately spiking water bills.
“I sorta let that go because I knew at the time the water company was having problems," Mudurian said. "And so I figured eventually they would rectify it... I would get a bill.”
No help from city
However, he said he was stunned when the bills finally came more than a year later.
"Well, I did get a bill for $28,500, and I thought that’s just a little too much because my average per year was something like $3,000," he said in a late September interview. "I stopped watering my grass months ago."
Mudurian said until Team 10 helped him get his water bill corrected, the problem had raised his anxiety and caused him to lose sleep.
"It's not okay"
Team 10 asked San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera about the problem.
He wasn't pleased.
“It’s super frustrating. It’s not OK," Elo-Rivera said. "Nobody — a senior or young person — should have to deal with being surprised with a $28,000 water bill. That’s not OK. The city needs to do better than that.”
Elo-Rivera said the water department needs to come to the City Council and ask for more resources if it can't provide better customer service and issue accurate bills on time.
“We continue to ask questions what can be done to help support the department to provide constituents better services," he said.
Mayor Todd Gloria has also pledged to improved the troubled agency.
Public Utilities Director Juan Guerreiro declined to be interviewed for this story.
Contacted Team 10
When Mudurian wasn't able to get relief from the water department, he sent an email to Team 10 at the urging of a neighbor.
That person had seen previous Team 10 investigations about the department's poor customer service, long wait times, more than $75 million in delinquent bills and massive pay raises for executives while water rates jumped significantly.
"I’m therefore contacting you to see if you can shed some light on this unfortunate situation and to see if you can help me to get a reasonable and equitable resolution with the water company, who refuse to work with me to lower my bill after several attempts to fairly resolve this with them," he wrote.
Team 10 then interviewed Mudurian on Sept. 30, and contacted the Public Utilities Department later that day.
Apology and adjustment
Two days after Team 10 interviewed Mudurian and sought comment from the water department, the city issued an apology to him through the TV station.
Arian Collins, a water department spokesman, told Team 10 the city had made a mistake and would adjust Mudurian's account.
"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience Mr. Mudurian has experienced as a result of the extended period of held billing on his account," Collins wrote.
The city that same day notified Murdurian it was reducing his bill by about $25,000.
"I guess your visit lit a fire under the PUD," Mudurian wrote to Team 10 on Oct. 2. "They have given me a 25K bill reduction leaving me owing about 3.5K. I think it's a fair settlement. I don't know how to thank you."
Collins noted to Team 10 that 98% of the city's customers now get their bills on time.
Those who have their bills held are not assessed late charges or penalties for non-payment, and water service is not turned off, according to Collins.
Collins also said call wait times to PUD's customer service department have dropped to an average of less than nine minutes from a high of two hours.
