A young Chicago property owner was left searching for answers after he was sent a water bill for over $70,000 on a vacant building that had been ravaged by a fire.
Omar Saleh was just 22 years old when he inherited a commercial building in the city's West Garfield Park neighborhood. For years, it housed a convenience store, known as 3400 Food & Liquor.
"It was in our family for about 20-25 years," Saleh said.
It was meant to be a stepping stone to give Saleh a strong start in life. But that strong start quickly turned into a setback -- after his building caught fire twice in the spring of 2023
"The first one, it was considered electrical. And then a month or so later, the city deemed [the second fire] as more of an arson," Saleh said.
Since the second fire, the building has been boarded up and vacant.
This did not stop Saleh from receiving a water bill of over $71,000 in November 2024, 18 months after the fires. The property has been vacant since May 2023.
"So when I called the customer service number for the city, they often said, 'well, there could be a probably a leak in the property,'" Saleh said.
Saleh told NBC 5 Responds that there is evidence of a water leak, one that the city had a legal duty to address.
Water meter readings from the building show a massive spike in usage shortly after the fires, lasting for five months.
Under Chicago municipal code, the city is required to notify the person responsible for a property in the event of a water leak and cut off the water supply within 24 hours if the leak isn't fixed.
However, Saleh said he was never notified of the leak, with the water remaining on for months.
"It is the property owner's responsibility to report their vacant property to the department of buildings. When that does not occur, water service and billing continues," a statement from a city spokesperson said.
Saleh said the last he had heard from the city was that they disagreed with his "interpretation of the code," not offering any further explanation.
While NBC 5 Responds asked the city for clarification as the ordinance doesn't specify regulations regarding a vacant building, we did not receive a response.
"It just, I feel like I'm getting nowhere. It will probably take me years and years to even recoup or make it make sense for me to even pay that back or even find a way to pay it back," Saleh said.
Since NBC 5 Responds began asking questions, the city cut approximately $13,000 in late fees to Saleh's bill, acknowledging he never received his water bills because they were all mailed to the vacant building.
Earlier this month Saleh said the city knocked off another $4,000 from his bill without explanation.
"I shouldn't have to have [NBC 5 Responds] come out here and do all this just to be heard," Saleh said.
In January, the city of Chicago rolled out a Water Leak Relief Pilot Program that would provide debt relief to customers who experience large water leaks like Saleh.
To determine if you're eligible, inspectors need to check where the leak is coming from. Unfortunately for Saleh, the city says his building isn't safe enough for inspectors to confirm the exact location in the leak.
Currently, Saleh is not eligible for any reduction in his bill.