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Ken Prettyman holds a water bill from one of his rental properties totaling $76,144.40, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. (Staff Photo by Tim Hawk/South Jersey Times)

— Nobody could have taken that many showers.

Ken Prettyman, 56, was shocked when he received a water bill on Thursday that amounted to more than many people's annual salaries.

"Usually it's $200," Prettyman said. But this quarter's water bill for a rental house Prettyman owns in downtown Mantua was slightly more than that, at $76,052.40.

Prettyman, who lives in a different part of town from the rental, said his bill had been increasing recently. A previous bill of $800 was high enough to raise a few eyebrows around the township, and officials flagged the invoice for review before deciding it was correct. Prettyman chalked that bill up to a former tenant.

He assumes the current number stems from a computer error, not just because of the exorbitant amount, but also the math. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average person uses about 70 gallons of water a day.

"Usually it's a thousand dollars a year," Prettyman said. "That's 76 years of water."

He briefly entertained the idea that his old tenant may have left the water running somewhere, but "there's no way" that could have used this much water without destroying the house.

"I've been telling them there's something wrong, and they've been telling me no," Prettyman said. "Well, there's definitely something wrong now. I don't think you can dispute this one."

Officials from the Mantua Municipal Utilities Authority could not be reached for comment Thursday due to snow closures.

Prettyman isn't angry with the township. In fact, he left a voice mail outlining his problem.

"I said, 'I think there might be a little mistake.'"

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Contact staff writer Andy Polhamus at 856-686-3729 or apolhamus@southjerseymedia.com