$20K water bill leaves Back of the Yards family in shock: 'It's unbelievable'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Last month, ABC7 told you about a woman in Englewood who received a $36,000 water bill.

After that story aired, another family in Chicago called the ABC7 I-Team, saying they too received a water bill that left them in shock.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

"This is ridiculous. We just don't understand why our water bill is so high, and how the city thinks we can pay a high amount of $20,000 for water," said Katherine Herrera.

The Herrera family has owned their Back of the Yards three-flat for more than two decades.

They said they have never seen a water bill anywhere near what they are seeing now.

"It's unbelievable that we have to pay more than $1,000 every month. That's a lot of money, considering the amount of water we consume in this house," Marco Herrera said, in Spanish.

The Herreras said this all started at the beginning of the year.

"We called the City of Chicago to see if they could get a plumber or someone to look at our water meter and the pipes for the water. They never came," Katherine said.

Instead, the family said, they received a letter from the city, informing them their water meter has been running continuously, indicating there may be a leak.

The family said they hired a plumber to check the meter, but no problem was found.

"They kind of just dismissed us like, 'Oh, it's your bill. You have to take care of it. We can't do anything about it,'" Katherine said.

They said the second plumber told them there could be a leak but needed the city's help identifying where might be.

"I saw that you helped someone else with a similar situation," Katherine said.

The I-Team previously helped Englewood resident Darlene Robinson after she received an enormous water bill from the city.

"I don't owe $36,000 on water. I don't owe it!" Robinson said.

Alderman Raymond Lopez, who represents the 15th Ward, says this is happening time and time again to his residents.

"No family should feel like they have to take it on the chin and keep paying these outrageous bills when they feel that there's an error," Lopez said.

Lopez will be helping the Herreras as they try to make these enormous water bills stop.

The City of Chicago said it cannot discuss the specific details of a customer's account, but they confirmed they are in communication with the family and the water department.

ABC7 Consumer Investigative Reporter heard from the Herraras via text on Friday afternoon. They said someone from the water department finally came out after all these months and said the leak is not coming from their property, and they will come back to investigate further.

If you need Samantha's help, you can call her at 312-750-7TIP.