Water woes: Upstate woman gets $1,600 bill

Yahoo

28-01-2025

(WSPA) – All of us are staring down some higher bills after the cold blast we saw this month. But what about the times when your water or electricity usage spikes because of a leak or malfunction?
In this 7NEWS Consumer Exclusive, the soggy saga of an Upstate woman's water bill woes.
Angela Rogers is the type of person who doesn't get riled about much.
But it didn't take long for water issues at her Jonesville home to come to a boiling point.
'Now this is what you're not going to believe. Check out these bills,' Rogers said showing us bills that jumped first to $475 then $984 then more than $1600.
'I can't pay that, no way,' she said.
While her usage began to rise in July she had no clue until her bill came in August. Even as she tried to pay what she could, she didn't realize, as billing cycles go, her next bill was already doubling.
She said it was disturbing that Rocky Creek Water, a rural cooperative in Jonesville, never called her to warn her something was wrong.
'My normal water bill was $25 a month. Before it got to $400 I would have appreciated a heads up,' Rogers said.
Lisa Oliphant, with Spartanburg Water, said the norm in the industry, especially with digital meters, is for water companies to contact customers as soon as they notice an unusual spike.
'Normally what we do is we try to email them. If we don't get a response back, try to call them personally and then we will send an email to them, and if that does not trigger a response then we will send a letter to their home.'
Like many homeowners, Rogers didn't realize she was responsible for any pipes going from the meter to her house. The water company is only responsible for the pipes going from the meter to the mainline.
As Rogers paid to get the leak repaired, she hoped Rocky Creek would reduce her bill back down to normal usage.
7NEWS reached out to several major water providers in the Upstate and learned most, from Easley to Spartanburg, are quite forgiving.
'We can track it and see how many gallons of water it was, it's now repaired and they'll go back to the day that it started and they'll credit you for the days that it was leaking…You're not going to pay for that water that was leaking,' Oliphant said.
Other utilities, like electric, won't likely forgive a spike for a malfunction, but they will offer payment plans and some may also qualify for community assistance.
Ryan Mosier, Spokesman for Duke Energy, said their app is a great way to track your own usage, and he highly recommends whether via the app or via email, customers sign up for 'usage alerts.'
'If customers are signed up for the usage alert, that is a mid-month/end-of-month type of notification that shows you where you are at compared to your previous usage, and so when you look at that notice you can go, something seems a little off here,' Mosier said.
Rogers now knows the importance of staying on top of her usage.
And while Rocky Creek did reduce the bill to just shy of one thousand dollars, she remains hopeful the company will make more adjustments knowing they also could have done a better job informing her.
'Why would you let it get beyond $25, $50 even $50, you know it's normally $25 a month, so at some point you gotta think, you know there's got to be a leak on that property.'
After Rocky Creek staff declined an interview and failed to connect us with a board member, 7NEWS managed to reach the Vice President the night before the air date who assured us they would 'make it right' with Rogers. They also promptly invited her to speak at this week's board meeting.
Look for an update to this story when 7NEWS learns more.
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