Joshua Ward is demanding answers from Los Angeles water officials after his household received a $10,395 bill he traces to botched fire hydrant repairs.
Ward, a plumber whose family has occupied the Sunland-Tujunga home near Sunland Boulevard and Wornom Avenue for two generations, told FOX 11 that his typical summer charges run about $1,400 even during peak heat. His April bill was $765, and June’s came in around $640, making the latest figure almost fifteen times his recent normal.
The spike coincided with street work that relocated a fire hydrant farther up the block. Neighbors confirmed the water had been shut off several times during the project. Ward suspects crews followed procedure for the physical relocation but skipped a critical final step.
“They did the repairs as per procedure. You’re supposed to do what is called purging the line, of all the air, and I don’t believe they did that. Making weird noises… weird noises coming out of the faucets and everything,” Ward told FOX 11.
Ward’s professional background gives him a specific theory about what went wrong. “The way that meters work and the way that they read and track our usage is done by volume. And there’s a big difference between the volume of air going through your meter and the volume of water going through. Air will spin your meter at a very rapid rate compared to how water goes through,” he added.
Other residents on the block reported elevated bills following the hydrant work, though none approached Ward’s four-figure shock.
The dispute lands amid broader pressure on California utility costs. A recent analysis ranked the Golden State’s electricity prices highest nationwide, more than double the national average. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has responded to mounting affordability concerns by ordering the Department of Water and Power to halt residential shutoffs for nonpayment through year’s end.
“No LADWP customer who is unable to pay their residential bill will have their electricity or water turned off for the remainder of this year,” Bass said in a statement.
Ward has not indicated whether he plans to pay the disputed charge while seeking resolution. The LADWP has not publicly addressed his specific claim about air purging or meter mechanics.
The hydrant repair project that preceded Ward’s billing nightmare involved multiple service interruptions as infrastructure was repositioned along the residential corridor.