LOWELL, Mass. — It was a shock at first: notifications started going out to residents in Lowell that they owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid water and sewer balances.
Some assumed it was an April Fool's joke. Others admitted they panicked a little.
But it turns out it was a glitch.
The City of Lowell's chief financial officer says they use a third-party vendor for billing and the vendor is having some technical issues.
One woman was petrified she did something wrong and somehow used up nearly $150,000 in water.
"I travel a lot for work so sometimes I’m gone and the sink could have been going or there would have been a faulty toilet so I got a little nervous," said Chantelle DelOrfano of Lowell.
In a statement, the city's chief financial officer, Conor Baldwin, said, "The vendor has apologized for the inconvenience caused by this error and is dedicated to working with the Finance Office to reconcile and correct all the balances for all valued customers in the city.”
Anyone who got an incorrect email or text reminder should ignore it at this point, and once they fix the issue, new ones will go out.
The online billing system isn't working right either, so if your bill is due within the next few days, you can always stop by City Hall here and pay in person.