Timmonsville residents concerned about high water bills

Some residents and business owners in Timmonsville are concerned about what they’re calling increasingly high water bills.

Several business owners and residents say they’ve received water bills ranging from about $100 to nearly $600, for one month’s bill.

Many people say they can no longer pay the water bills, and some are even doing without.

“To sum it up, my electric bill isn’t this high…so that tells me something,“ said Timmonsville resident Rose Desarno, describing her increasing water bill.

“I’ve seen from $50 to $100, even thousands of dollars. We went out, we took our cameras and we took pictures of the water meters, some had been buried in dirt for years, some are filled with water, there’s no way they’re reading these meters,“ said Timmonsville business owner Patricia Buruno.

Many locals say they’re also concerned about exactly how the meters are measured…and how the bills are calculated.

“I have seen other bills that the total amount consumption is 3,300 (gallons), and yet i see another bill that’s 3,300 (gallons) but both bills are totally different amounts for the total amount on their bills,“ Desarno said.

The business owners and residents say they’ve taken their concerns to town leaders and have yet, to find relief.

News13 tried to talk to town officials about the high water bills several times on Wednesday, but the mayor was unavailable and those working at town hall said the town administrator was in meetings all day.

Some business owners say they’ve had to shut off the water at their stores because of the high bills, while many residents say they’re not sure how they’re going to pay their bills, but also recognize that they cannot do without.

Both residents and business owners are now banding together, signing petitions and holding meetings, to try and find some sort of solution.

“We’re hoping that someone out there can help us to resolve this problem so we can get our bill lowered, so that we can afford to pay them,“ Buruno said.

Business owners and residents held a meeting last week on the water bill problems.

They say they plan to hold another town meeting to try and address the issue in the near future.