 Asst. AG Spenard looks over the Webbs' water bills after the public meeting in Clinton. Justine Webb, with two people in her house, had a water bill of $35 – $58 a month prior to February 2008. After February 2008, in an eleven month period, the Webbs water bill grossed $7149.77. In July 2008, two bills came in: on July 16th a bill for $2774.91 arrived. A second bill for the same amount came in on on July 24th.
“I have spent many, many hours on the phone with this company.” Webb told the Commissioners. The water company deducted the July bill, leaving a balance of $1599.95 for eleven months of water. That worked out to $145.45 a month.
Webb said the water company told her that she must have a leak.
“They put dye in the commode. It never leaked through. Then they said, okay, your appliances were old and used too much water.”
The Webbs installed two new commodes and a new washer and dishwasher which were low flow and energy efficient. The month after the installation, I received a bill for $186.16.
The one month the water bill was below $100 was a month that her husband, Dwayne, was in the hospital for two weeks out of the month. That bill was for $89.
“You can see what a 51% increase will do to us” she said.
She said she and her husband tried to figure out "whether we're the cleanest old people in town or the dirtiest." bringing laughter and applause from the audience. |
