Resident's 'Act of God' Plea Runs Dry in Water Abatement Request

The $400 water and sewer bill Algonquian Drive resident Steven Cohen paid is staying with the Town of Natick.

Despite a plea from Cohen to Natick's Board of Selectmen last month, in which he said the only way the bill could be this high was through "an Act of God," the Board on Oct. 7 made no motion in his request to abate the bill.

"My summary to the Board is this does seem quite mysterious," Town Administrator Martha White said. "The Board and administration have seen the demo (of the meters), and it does not run if water is not running through it."

Cohen said the 7 Algonquian Drive home was not lived in when he and his wife first purchased it on Nov. 30, making it impossible for the water and sewer use to be so high.

"In the 18 months before the property was sold, the water bill never exceeded 16 units per month," he said last month. "I’m not sure what a unit of water corresponds to a gallon, but if a flush is a gallon, a lot of flushes had to have happened for that bill (to be what it is)."

Cohen was not present on Oct. 7.

Selectmen Richard Jennett, Jr. sympathized with Cohen. 

"I've seen how a small leak can add up very quickly," he said, referencing to a statement he made last month. "The toilet could have been flushed, but didn't seal."

Vice Chair Joshua Ostroff said the bill is still a mystery.

"I feel bad for homeowner ... the outside faucet could have been problem but we'll never know," he said. "I have faith in the equipment. If I knew otherwise (I would abate the bill)."