Hialeah's new mayor moves to tackle sky-high water bills for residents through an executive order
Hialeah residents pay about 30 percent more for their water bills than other Miami-Dade County customers, according to City of Hialeah officials — and for many families, the cost has become overwhelming.
On Tuesday, newly sworn-in Mayor Bryan Calvo signed an executive order launching a plan he says will bring solutions within 120 days.
The move comes after months of complaints from residents who say their water and sewer charges are spiraling out of control.
One of them is Nancy Nawaz, who told CBS News Miami she met Calvo while he was campaigning and pleaded with him to fix the problem.
She showed CBS News Miami her most recent water bill for her Hialeah home — $1,066.04 for just three months, covering the period from September 17 to November 15.
"When you see a bill for over a thousand dollars, you're shocked," Nawaz said. "A thousand dollars? Am I going to stop bathing? What do I do?"
She said she has cut back dramatically on water use — even avoiding doing laundry at home — but the bills keep coming.
"We thought washing clothes twice a week was causing it, so we started using the laundromat," Nawaz said. "And I was still getting a thousand dollars."
She added that she hasn't even been using her pool.
"I don't even turn on my pool," she said.
Other residents say the sewer portion of their bills is even higher than the cost of the water they use.
"I pay more for sewer than for the water I use. This makes no sense," said Rafael Llanes, a Hialeah resident who spoke in Spanish.
His bill showed $54.95 for water but $117.45 for sewer — more than double.
At City Hall, Mayor Calvo announced an internal audit led by the city's Department of Public Works, aimed at finding out why residents are paying so much.
"I'm signing an executive order," Calvo said as he unveiled the plan.
Among the issues to be examined, Calvo said, are the city's aging water meters and a major legal dispute with Miami-Dade County.
"Among the things that will be looked at is whether or not we should transition to automatic meters," Calvo said. "We will also be looking at the litigation between Miami-Dade County and the City of Hialeah."
That lawsuit involves nearly $18 million in unpaid water and sewer debt that Miami-Dade County says Hialeah owes — a dispute that city officials believe could be contributing to higher costs passed on to residents.
Under the mayor's order, the Department of Public Works must deliver a report within 60 days. Within 120 days, city leaders are expected to receive a full set of options outlining how and when changes could be made to bring bills down.
That means within about three months, residents should know what solutions are coming — and how they will be implemented.
For Nawaz, who voted for Calvo, the hope is real but fragile.
"I'm worried. I hope he can fix it," she said. "Will it get fixed? I have hope. That's all I can do — hope."