Water Bill Battle Continues for Cedar Grove Resident

It would be an understatement to say that Cedar Grove resident Kitra Kothari has found himself in hot water. 

Though Kothari lives in a single-family house, where the normal water bill averages $115 per quarter — he recently paid a bill much larger than that. 

On June 21, after 15 months of fighting with his local water utility, Kothari paid $10,457.90 under the threat of getting his water turned off. 

But he still insists the bill was unfair. 

According to his attorney Charles Damian of Cedar Grove, “My client received a water bill for almost one million gallons of water usage in one quarter. If there was a leak, it would be something you would hear and see the consequences of.”

One million gallons consumed over 90 days equals more than 11,000 gallons of water per day.

“It is glaringly obvious that after meeting with a plumber and four visits by two different township individuals to the property, there was no leakage,” Damian said. “But it’s practically impossible that a one-family dwelling could consume so much water. It defies the laws of reason and probability.”

Both Damian and Kothari questioned the accuracy of the water meter and the possibility of a malfunction in their last appearance before the Cedar Grove Council, but Mayor John Zunic told them, “I rely on the information provided by the people that are experts in the area, namely our employees and also the company that tested the water meter for accuracy….The meter was reported to be operating properly.”

To avoid having the water shut off, Kothari was given 72 hours to pay the entire amount on June 18. By paying the bill on June 21, Kothari, along with his attorney, bought more time to investigate and determine what happened. 

“We compromised to pay it to prevent the water cut off….We opted to spend the money to investigate rather than litigate,” said Damian.

Damian is the third attorney hired by Kothari. He was hired the weekend prior to the council appearance. It was not clear why the two previous attorneys were no longer on the case.

Damian said his next step is to gather his due diligence documentation from the Cedar Grove Water department, find an expert team to analyze it to determine how it was incorrect and present it yet again to the council.

“I will utilize the expertise of various individuals at the Passaic Valley Water Commission to invalidate an obvious mistake and/or malfunctioning meter,” Damian said. “We are determined to get to the bottom of this and get him the refund he deserves.”