Relief might be on the way for some Jackson County residents stuck with a high water bill

The Jackson County Utility Authority said it will present an adjustment plan to its board on Monday to help customers whose bills rose this month – sometimes by hundreds of dollars.

The utility authority said on Saturday it had learned “of reports of potentially inaccurate billing” after some customers took to social media to protest charges that they said showed wrong or impossibly high water use.

The outcry came after the utility authority switched from a flat-rate system to meter-based sewage system in October.

“That change has caught a lot of our customers off guard,” executive director Eric Page said, “especially if they weren’t paying attention to how much water they were using before or if they had a leak.”

At Monday’s utility authority board meeting, Page said he will present a plan to adjust bills “for those that saw a significant increase in their bill for October.” He said those adjustments could be extended through November if the board approves the plan.

The utility authority said complaints have mostly centered around bills that customers said showed inaccurate water use. Some customers said the authority charged them for hundreds of gallons over just a few hours, and the authority itself has said the cost of some bills appeared “quite excessive.”

In response, Page said the utility authority investigated its water meters and found and replaced “a couple” that were faulty. Most homes do not have faulty meters, he said, but the utility will still send some meters to a manufacturer in the next month to make sure they work correctly.

If the board approves an adjustment, Page said customers will have a chance to evaluate their homes under the new meter system.

“Are they using more water than they think? Do they have any leaks?” Page said. “For all those reasons, we’re going to present a plan to do an adjustment just to take care of current billing.”

Why did my water bill rise?

Page said the utility authority changed its system to make billing more equitable. Under a flat-rate, he said, all customers pay the same price no matter how much water they use. Changing the rate structure for sewage will mean lower bills for homes that use less water, and higher costs for people that use more, he said.

The utility authority did not raise rates across the board, Page said, and he estimated one third of customers had a lower bill in October than September.

He also said the extreme drought that has plagued Mississippi for months can impact local water use and costs.

The authority has said it will not penalize late payments or disconnect any homes until it solves the problem.

Who is impacted?

The utility authority treats the entire county’s wastewater but only charges water bills to people who reside outside of city limits.

The rate changes and adjustment plan, if approved, will only impact people who live outside of cities or Public Service Commission recognized areas, like Gulf Park Estates.

Supervisors across the county mostly said they were unaware of issues with customers’ bills.

Supervisor Ennit Morris said Thursday he has heard no water bill complaints around Moss Point. Representatives who answered phones at the offices of Ken Taylor, who covers Gautier, and Troy Ross, who covers Ocean Springs, said they had also not heard complaints.

Randy Bosarge, whose district covers the area between Latimer and Gulf Park Estates, did not respond to calls on Thursday. Barry Cumbest, whose district covers Vancleave and north Jackson County, was also unavailable.