She’s getting soaked.
An elderly Queens native could lose her home after the Department of Environmental Protection slapped her with a $22,828.71 water bill — which she claims is completely inaccurate.
Margaret McGowan, 86, says she had never paid more than $85 a month for the 50 years she’s lived at her Flushing home — but after the DEP shut her water meter off for about two years because of some repairs, they back charged her roughly $850 a month for that time.
It was a sum that would have represented about 10 swimming pools of water a month for the seniors’ small home if accurate, according to her supporters.
“It was a shock to me to get the bill that high . . . plus interest is accrued,” said McGowan, who was accompanied by her two daughters.
McGowan, a widow who raised her children as a single mom in the modest Tudor-style residence, was denied two appeals with the DEP, faces her final appeal with the Water Board.
State Senator John Liu (D-16) and State Assembly member Ed Braunstein joined McGowan in front of her home this morning to demand the DEP take responsibility for its wrongdoing.
“DEP not only needs to cancel this ridiculous $22,000 bill. They need to issue an apology to Mrs. McGowan,” said Senator Liu, who expressed concern that this could be happening to other city residents.
Trouble started in January of 2022, when the DEP discovered an equipment issue at Mrs. Mcgowan’s home and froze her bill for two years while the agency remedied the meter problem.
Once it was resolved in January of 2024, the agency sent a back bill for the elapsed time for the jaw-dropping figure.
Despite McGowan’s multiple attempts to appeal the charge – the DEP has not accepted responsibility. The agency has even threatened to put a lien on her home if she doesn’t pay the amount in full.
The agency maintains that the sky-high bill must have been a result of an unknown leak at McGowan’s home – but lawmakers scoffed at the idea.
“That would be ten swimming pools, and their suggestion that there was some kind of leak – Could you measure if there were 10 swimming pools of water a month of leaks?” Quipped Assembly Member Braunstein.
“The whole neighborhood would know. That clearly didn’t happen.”
Senator Liu shared that even McGowan’s bank has encouraged her to pay the monstrous debt to avoid action being taken against her home.
“ This is a serious threat to Mrs. McGowan’s ownership of her own home, a long-time ownership. So not only is DEP digging its heels in on an indefensible position – they are now threatening Mrs. McGowan with the loss of her long-time home, totally outrageous and unacceptable,” said Liu.
McGowan does not currently have legal counsel but says she’s working with an auditing agency to help her with the ongoing battle.
“I just don’t understand what’s going on. I really need the help,” she said.
In response to McGowan’s claims a spokesperson for the DEP told The Post:
“There are no issues with the meter itself and the high bill in question is based on elevated consumption at the property. However, this matter has been appealed to the NYC Water Board and we are reviewing what can be done to assist this customer.”
