On August 17, Zhengzhou citizen Wang Li held her one-month-old child in one hand and carried water borrowed from a neighbor in the other hand as she trudged home to prepare water for lunch.

More than three months ago, Wang Li and his wife pooled together a down payment of 400,000 yuan to buy a second-hand house. Three months after moving in, the water meter in their home showed that they used 2,172 tons of water. According to the stepped water price, you need to pay 21,690.2 yuan.

The left side of the water meter refers to the inside of the water meter, which is the location of the water leakage. In order to prevent continued water leakage, the water company sent people to unscrew the right (outside) interface of the water meter to cut off the water.

A resident’s tap water suddenly cut off and a check revealed that the water used was 2,000 tons

The house Wang Li bought is located 400 meters east of the intersection of Longhai Road and Zijingshan South Road in Zhengzhou City, in a community. It's called Dacheng Community.

At around 9 o'clock in the morning on August 17, she held her one-month-old child in one hand and carried a bucket in the other hand to borrow water from her neighbor's house. "This situation has been going on for more than a week." Wang Li said that she is from Huaiyang, Zhoukou, her family is not wealthy, and her husband works in Beijing. I got pregnant last year, and my husband and I decided to buy a house in Zhengzhou. The down payment is 400,000, and the remainder is a bank loan. For this down payment, 200,000 yuan was saved by the couple. The remaining 200,000 yuan was borrowed from relatives and friends, and 20,000 yuan was borrowed from a credit card.

Water payment amount reminder on Wang Li’s mobile phone

On May 8, the original homeowner completed the online signing procedures and handed over the house. "We carried out simple renovations and moved in immediately." Wang Li said that on August 8, she found that the water heater was not producing water. She asked the neighbors upstairs and downstairs, and they all said that the water supply was normal. At first, she thought there was something wrong with the water heater. I called a repairman to check and found that there was no problem with the water heater. I guessed that the tap water supply pressure was insufficient.

Subsequently, maintenance personnel from the water company came to check and found that the water pipe near the water meter burst. The meter reader told Wang Li that her water meter showed 2,526 tons of water, while the last meter reading on May 8 showed 354 tons. In other words, in just three months, Wang Li's water consumption reached 2,172 tons. The meter reader said that according to the stepped water price calculation, she needed to pay a water fee of 21,690.2 yuan.

Who pays the sky-high water bills due to different responsibilities inside and outside the water meter?

Wang Li said that the staff of the water company explained that according to relevant regulations, the user is responsible for what is inside the water meter, and the water company is responsible for what is outside the water meter. The leak happened to be located inside the water meter. In this way, she not only had to bear the water bill, but also had to repair the burst water pipe herself.

Mr. Wang from the property management company of the community said that the maintenance of water, electricity and gas charges in Dacheng Community are all handled by professionals. The property management company has not been involved in this matter, so it is not responsible for the maintenance.

Wang Li has just moved into the community and is not familiar with many residents, but she has become a "celebrity" in the community because of this experience.

After receiving information from many sources, she was full of doubts about whether she should bear the "sky-high" water bill.

According to the original owner of the house and many owners of the community, in 2004, Dacheng Community carried out the "one household, one meter" tap water renovation, and each household paid more than 1,000 yuan. The water company takes the lead in the qualification review of construction personnel, material selection and other aspects of the work, and the owner does not participate.

“If there is a problem with your work, how can we, the owners, pay the bill?” Many owners expressed confusion.

Relevant people from the Zhengzhou Water Supply Company said that they had encountered several problems at the user's home before. According to Article 18 of the Zhengzhou Water Supply Regulations, the user should indeed be responsible for the explosion and leakage on the inside of the water meter. "But from the user's perspective, her doubts are reasonable. We will send people to investigate again and strive to handle it properly."

Lawyer’s statement

Citizens are not responsible unless there is evidence to prove that the damage was intentional or negligent

In this regard, Zhang Shaochun, director of Henan Chunyi Law Firm Lawyers analyzed that there is a service contract legal relationship between citizens and water companies. Citizens' payment and the company's water supply are the legal obligations of both parties.

During the contract period, one household per meter was renovated. If citizens are only responsible for paying fees, and material selection, construction, etc. are all carried out by the water company, then the water company should bear the sky-high water fees. When a water pipe bursts, there is either a problem with the quality of the materials or unqualified construction. As a water company, citizens are not responsible unless there is evidence to prove that the damage was intentional or negligent. If there is evidence that the burst water pipe was caused by a third party, the party can be held legally responsible.

Latest developments

Zhengzhou Water Company responded: willing to repair leaks and negotiate to resolve water bill issues

At around 4 pm on the 17th, Zhengzhou Water Company Relevant people reported feedback that they have come up with solutions to the water leakage situation: the water company will help users find leaks and repair them so that users can use tap water as soon as possible; proactively communicate with users on water bill issues and negotiate solutions; at the same time , to investigate and troubleshoot similar problems in the community, solve users' water problems, and reduce users' economic losses.

It should not be left to the user.