A Rockland County church says it was forced to turn off its water service after its bill from Veolia Water New York spiked into the thousands following a hidden underground water main break.

Leaders at Calvary Baptist Church on Clinton Street in Haverstraw say their monthly water bill jumped from about $40 to $3,842.53 in October. The following month, the bill totaled $8,520.37, which included the prior balance.

“There’s no way you can tell me they didn’t see the usage was extravagant for us,” said Wilbur Aldridge, a church leader and former president of the Rockland chapter of the NAACP. “They had to know something was going on — but they just let it ride because it wasn’t their problem.”

Church officials say they initially repaired a running toilet and believed the issue was resolved but later learned there was an underground water main break beneath the church, which dates back to the 1800s. Aldridge says there was no visible sign of a problem inside the building.

“We never saw a puddle of water — nothing inside,” Aldridge said.

According to church leaders, repairing the underground break required excavation and cost more than $10,000. Aldridge says the church is only used one to two times a week for services and bible study, making the spike in usage even more alarming and that they were afraid of getting additionally high bills - instead, deciding to have the service shut off.

Church leaders say the company told them any leak within the property is the customer's responsibility and that they are considering using a porta-potty because they cannot afford the bill.

“We don’t have it,” Aldridge said. “We have a mortgage to pay. To pay this kind of money to the water company — I just don’t see it. Unless it’s a miracle.”

News 12 reached out to Veolia for information.

A company representative says it is now working with the church to provide a credit for a portion of the repair costs and to set up a payment plan, adding that the water service was shut off at the church’s request.

A Veolia spokesperson sent the following statement:

“Veolia has worked closely with the Calvary Baptist Church since October to investigate the cause of the increased water use and the subsequent billing issues. We are substantially reducing the amount of the outstanding water bill and will work with the church to establish a payment plan for satisfying it."