. >> investigative reporter jody fleischer shows us the key projects already in the works. >> reporter what does this average looking water fountain, giant hole in the ground and this truck full of what used to be poop have in common? hopefully they will put more money in your pocket. outgoing general manager has a team of researchers finding ways to solve problems and create new ideas for d.c. water to test and use and the utility is going the extra step to try to market and sell their technologies and services to other water systems and eventually private customers. >> it hasn't generated much revenue yet because the potential future is very significant and unusual for public agencies. >> reporter: one of the products that they are now selling is something they have to get ritd of anyway by the truckload. more than 400 tons per day. >> people don't stop going to the bathroom, even on holidays. >> reporter: d.c. water has found a way to make it into something buyer's will pay for, using a steam treatment system into a high-quality soil called blue. they have launched a nonprofit to he

. >> news 4 investigative reporter jody fleischer has more on why only some have to pay and why thoseghbors say it's not fair. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: we found neighborhoods with private roads and sidewalk are being charged for the fee, and sidewalks are not. it's costing homeowners hundreds of dollars a month while everyone else doesn't have to pay. >> i think that is unfair. i think that's unfair. >> ryland harris lives in this townhouse complex and knew his homeowner's association had to pay for potholes on the roads, but this year it billed the hoa $40,000 in clean river fees. it is going toward a massive tunnel project and it gets a break on what it has to play. private roads, sidewalks andallies are exempt from those fees. >> i think if d.c. isn't pay for their road, we shouldn't pay for ours. at this complex the bill is $8,000 a month and d.c. water is expected to double it by 2026. this is painful. it could potentially bankrupt us. after a series of news 4 i-team investigation the d.c. council held a hearing and is l >> we'll figure out a way to make these adjustments and in the end

joe d jodie fleischer, news 4 i-team. >>> 5:57. waiting for wegmans.ching the chance for a new grocery store. the change at the site for the potential new store. >>> the controversial decision that has parents taking sides. >>> montgomery county high school campus grieving this mourning the loss of a student over the weekend. i'm justin finch with how the campus is coming together today. >>> teen tragedy. the discovery in the woods and the grim task facing a local school and what happened to a high school senior. >>> trump accusers speaking out. three women who accused the president of sexual misconduct will speak out in an nbc news exclusive. >>> i'm at a loss for words honestly. i never thought we'd get beat >> just blah, and blah. >> you heard it. blah and blachlth. a total letdown. the redskins season comes to a disappointing end. >>> that breaking news out of loudoun county this morning. we're learning about a deadly house fire there. we're still gathering new information. we're going to check in at the live desk in a moment. >> first, we want to

jodie fleischer, news 4 i-team. >>> 6:55 now. here are four things to know.rs are on the scene in loudoun county after a fatal house fire that broke out around 8:30 last night on taylors town road west of 270. go to the nbc washington app for the latest updates. >>> grief counselors will be at walt whitman high school in bethesda. a 17-year-old senior named navid sepehri was found dead in the woods on sunday. he was reported missing saturday night. be sure to follow news 4's justin finch on twitter for the latest. >>> this morning, several women will accuse president trump of sexual misconduct on megyn kelly. the exclusive interview will air >>> the redskins lost to the chargers yesterday 13-30. it was a second straight blowout loss. you can hear the coach and the players' reaction on the nbc washington app. >>> chopper 4 over this problem. northbound georgia avenue after randolph road. a pickup truck involved. as you can see choppers zooming in, police cruiser, seems like it was involved in the crash. has front end damage. that's the report we're get lt gett

. >> news4's investigative reporter jody fleischer has more on why only some have to pay and why thoseeighbors say that's so unfair. >> reporter: we found neighborhoods with private roads and sidewalks are being charged for the fee, but public roads and sidewalks are not. it's costing some homeowners hundreds of dollars a month while everyone else doesn't have to pay. >> i think that it's unfair. i think that's unfair. >> reporter: ryland harris lives in this town house complex in north east and knew his homeowner's association had to pay for things like flowers and potholes on their private roads, but this year d.c. build the hoa $40,000 in clean rivers fees even though it has no water service. >> that was flabbergasted. >> reporter: the money is going toward a massive government tunnel project, but the i-team found the government gets a break on what it has to pay. public roads sidewalks and a fees. if d.c. doesn't pay for their roads we shouldn't pay for ours. >> reporter: the bill is $8,000 a month at this condo complex, and d.c. is expected to double it by 2026. >> this is painful

jody fleischer, news4 i-team. >> this originated from a tip from a viewer just like you. an idea for an investigation, contact our i-team. look upstate licenses for cosmetic procedures. >> just days after learning they'd endure salary cuts and possible layoffs, the washington city paper has a new owner, and that means some relief for its staff. local businessmen and k owner purchased the paper for an undisclosed amount. he believes in journalism and its role in the community. the first step is to make investments to help stabilize the newspaper. >> i'm p going to measure success here as a financial success. it's going to be measured on the impact we have in the community. are we an important voice, are we doing important things? and ultimately from a business point of view after making money, long-term sustainable and can you stand on your own. >> he says aside from being owner he does not plan to have any day to day role with the paper. two things that will not change, the paper will remain a print publication, and it will continue to be free. >> a special moment caught

. >> investigative reporter jody fleischer has been working to unravel this break the government has been getting and here to tell us what you learned. >> reporter: absolutely. those fees are part of a program to limit stormwater runoff and all d.c. residents are supposed to pay their fair share based on their property. now, d.c. water has to raise billions of dollars for the project. so, everyone time someone pays less the rest of us are forced to pay more. what almost no one realized was d.c. water agreed to cut the district and federal governments a break on their fees without bothering to figure out how much that would cost the rest of us. so, the i-team did the math. d.c. government only paid about $8 million toward this fee last year. and our calculations show if all of its roads and sidewalks counted toward the fee, d.c. would have to pay another $80 the district and federal governments have only been paying the fee based on the square footage of their buildings and walkways on their government-owned properties. but thousands of miles of public roads and sidewalks in the right

. >> news 4 jody fleischer has more on why some had to pay and why the neighbors say it's unfair. >> reporter: we found neighborhoods with private roads and sidewalks are being charged for the fee, but public roads and sidewalks are not. it's costing some homeowners hundreds of dollars a month while everyone doesn't have to pay. >> i think that's unfair. i think that's unfair. >> harris lives in this town house complex in northeast and knew his homeowners association had to pay for things like plowing and potholes on private roads but this year, they were billed $40,000 in clean roads -- even though there's no water service. >> i was flabbergasted. >> the money is going towards a massive government tunnel project. but the news 4 i-team got a break on what it has to pay. public sidewalks roads and alice are exempt from those fees. >> i think we shouldn't have to pay for ours. >> the bi here. d.c. water is expected to double it by 2026. >> it could potentially bankrupt us. >> the investigation, there was a hearing held and is looking for fair solutions. >> we'll look at some way to mak

investigative reporter jody fleischer here now with why only some neighbors have to pay and why they jody? >> reporter: the neighbors with private roads and sidewalks are charged for the water fee, but public roads and sidewalks are not. it is costing some homeowners hundreds of dollars a month that the rest of us don't have to pay and we found d.c. water is missing out on at least $7 million each year by giving the government that break. >>> can you tell the difference between this public road or this private one? how about this sidewalk or that stormwater runoff, but only those who own private roads and sidewalks have to pay for it. >> that is unfair. that has to be fixed. >> reporter: ryland harris lives in dakota crossing in northeast, and knew his homeowners association had to pay for things like plowing and potholes on their private roads and sidewalks. but this year d.c. water also billed the hoa $40,000 in fees even though it has no water service. >> i was flabbergasted. >> reporter: the town homeowners already pay their own water bills which include clean river fees for roof

investigative reporter jody fleischer isre found. >> reporter: when we asked d.c.uch it was losing no one could tell us. we asked d.c. council, no answer there either. it appears no one studied the numbers before the city and federal governments got this mammoth exemption. now we have obtained records from the department of enter skbri and environment and did the math ourselves. d.c. water is missing out on $84 million a year because of those exemptions. now, those fees are part of the clean rivers program which charges every customer based on the square footage of their property that's impervious. meaning it could add to the district's stormwater runoff problems. now, a huge portion of those fees comes from private sidewalks, roadways and parking areas. but back when d.c. water created the fee a decade ago, it decided to exempt public roads and alleys from that calculation. that is really frustrating for neighbors whose streets and sidewalks are considered private. they are billed hundreds of dollars a month. some homeowner associations pay tens of thousands each