Ga. man in fight with HOA over nearly $10,000 water bill

A Gwinnett County, Georgia homeowner is not happy after receiving a nearly $10,000 water bill.
 
Derwin Smith has a medium size townhouse, no pool and no sprinkler system.
 
He calls the bill crazy, his property manager calls it correct.
 
"Ain't no way possible. I still take three minute showers. I was in the Navy," Smith said.
 
Smith showed WSB's Tony Thomas a pile of paperwork he says documents his month's long fight over the sky-high water bill.

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He's owned his townhouse for four years, but spent most of the time overseas working as a contractor for the Army. He says while in Afghanistan, he got word of the shocking bill.
 
"When I originally bought the house, the old HOA said the water is free, it's on the master meter and it's being paid through the HOA," Smith said.  
 
But while he was gone, that changed and billing went to each owner.
 
Smith says someone came in and installed equipment in his basement and soon a $5 connect charge ballooned.
 
"Are HOAs that powerful?" Thomas asked.  
 
"If that's the case, I don't' want to live anywhere like that," Smith said.
 
Thomas contacted the property management company overseeing the Lakes at Sugarloaf neighborhood.
 
President Michael Crew told Thomas the HOA board made the changes because some bills were astronomically higher than others.
 
"I think it's a realistic expectation that it's his home and he should be responsible for paying for his usage," Crew said.
 
Smith says he had one toilet that ran for a while, but nothing else. He wishes the HOA would have cut the water off when they threatened to $9,000 ago.
 
He plans to still fight.
 
"It was crazy. It was like a punch in the gut," Smith said.