Wadena administration is asking town council for authorization to reduce a senior’s water bill after a leaky toilet ran up a tab of more than $3,300.

When the September bill of the man, who is in his 80s, was abnormally high staff advised him to check his home for leaking toilets, a constantly running water softener or other cause, staff told council at their January 9 meeting.

However office staff weren’t sure he understood.

After his December water bill came to $3,305.62, a worker inspected his house and discovered a toilet in “extremely poor condition” was running in the basement.

The worker shut off water to the toilet in an attempt to stop the problem, and staff are asking council to reduce the bill to the minimum billing amount.