--- description: And it’s not a mistake title: $55,000 Sewage Bill Shocks Boston Area Homeowner image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # $55,000 Sewage Bill Shocks Boston Area Homeowner  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 19, 2014 10:36 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 19, 2014 10:36 PM CUT Dozens of home and business owners in Wayland, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, have been [saddled](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/03/18/wayland-residents-faced-with-23000-sewer-bills/ "undefined") with astronomical sewage bills and, just as shockingly, they aren’t the result of an accounting error. “When you add up all the fees we are looking at close to $55,000,” Wayland resident Mary Farley told CBS Boston. Another resident is facing a $23,000 bill. In all, CBS reports, about three dozen households and as many businesses are facing huge bills. At fault is a new $5.5 million waste water treatment facility built nearby. Since most of the town’s residents have septic systems, use of the new facility—and the cost—falls to only about 75 users, who say they had no idea they’d be suddenly strapped with thousands of dollars in sewage fees. Town leaders say they’re looking for a solution. \[[CBS Boston](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/03/18/wayland-residents-faced-with-23000-sewer-bills/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/31084/55000-sewage-bill-boston-homeowner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/31084/55000-sewage-bill-boston-homeowner/"},"headline":"$55,000 Sewage Bill Shocks Boston Area Homeowner","datePublished":"2014-03-19T22:36:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:51:38.127Z","description":"And it’s not a mistake","url":"https://time.com/31084/55000-sewage-bill-boston-homeowner/","keywords":["Boston","Utilities"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/31084/55000-sewage-bill-boston-homeowner/","name":"$55,000 Sewage Bill Shocks Boston Area Homeowner"}}]}] ```