Marshville neighbors question big spike in water bills
Families in Marshville are seeing serious sticker shock with a spike in their water bills, with some families seeing increases of more than a hundred dollars.
One family in the Union County town told Channel 9 that their water bill increased to more than $300, and neighbors say they disagree with what they’re being told is the problem.
“We boil our water and we buy bottled water to drink,” Rikki Tillman told Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis on Monday.
Tillman’s family is also getting well water from her parents’ place to make do, but many neighbors in Marshville are buying bottled water because it costs less than what comes out of their tap.
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Tillman says the price has just gotten too high -- her August water bill was a whopping $317, more than double her usual bill. She says she’s had no choice but to pay the higher rate.
“We try to take short showers, I try to only wash clothes when we have to,” Tillman said. “We can’t go without water and it’s already so high, it’s higher than our power bill.”
Tillman took a closer look at her family’s usage, but she says she has no idea what caused this huge spike. She filed a complaint with the town of Marshville, which said she must have a leak. However, Tillman says an inspection showed she has no leak.
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And she’s not alone. Several neighbors are sounding off on a community Facebook page with the same problem. Channel 9 spoke to neighbors around the town who say they’re also dealing with huge bills, a drastic spike in usage, and the town claiming there must be a leak.
“Obviously there’s an issue if we are all being told we have the same problem and we all have leaks,” Tillman said.
Channel 9 dug into the town’s budget and found that in June, Marshville raised fees on water by nearly 9 percent and fees for sewer service by 15 percent. Homeowners say that still doesn’t add up or account for the higher bills, and Tillman said she’s worried about next month.
“It’s really stressful when you feel like there’s an error and there’s no kind of resolution to it, and you have to pay it anyway, and then knowing next month it might still be the same,” Tillman said.
We reached out to the Marshville town manager and the public works department about the issue, but we haven’t heard back. Channel 9 also checked with Union County, but county officials say Marshville controls its own water system.
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