Two residents from the Alpine Cottages community came to the Franklin Town Council after their community received a $9,000 water bill.
Town Manager Amie Owens said a pipe on the property had burst and leaked about 2,000 gallons an hour, resulting in a total of about 900,000 gallons over 19 days. “That’s a lot of water,” she said. “The bill was over $9,000.”
Owens said the account is set up on a master meter with one bill for the community. The bill is sent to account holder James Martin, who requested additional time to pay the bill. Owens said the town has waived the late fee because the residents wanted to address the Town Council. In addition to the two speakers at the April 7 meeting, the town received emails from two other residents concerning the bill.
Owens said the leak happened in a field and the water ran into a small pond at the bottom of the property so it wasn’t noticed as easily as if water had been running into the street or gushing up as sometimes happens.
According to an email from Martin to Owens, the community of 10 houses had been served by a community well for about 50 years. In November 2023, the well pump failed, and it was estimated it would be three to six months before they could get service. Martin said they decided to tap into the town’s water system rather than repair the pump.
Martin’s family once owned Alpine Cottages as a vacation rental company, but it has since become housing for local families; Martin, who lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, still owns a house and property in the community. Martin said he paid for the connection to the town system and per the covenants, the other property owners were to reimburse for the system and the water bills going forward. The community water bill is split among the 10 owners.
“I am asking if the Town would consider waiving this bill for abnormal use, could provide a discounted rate, or ask for the possibility of a payment plan spread out over several years so that it is not a burden on the property owners here,” Martin stated in the email to Owens.
Ted Pitcher has lived in the community for 18 years and said the community bill is usually about $550. Earlier this year the bill increased to $990 and a minor leak was found and repaired. However, the larger leak was not detected until property owners began commenting that the water pressure was low.
Pitcher walked from house to house talking to neighbors and trying to pinpoint if there was a leak somewhere but didn’t find anything at the houses. As he was walking home, he cut through the vacant field and the ground was soggy. He reported the leak to Martin and it was repaired the next day.
“We had no idea that there was such a big leak until the bill came in,” Pitcher said. “We are just asking if there is anything you can do to relieve some of that. I don’t see that there was any negligence on anybody’s part.”
He said many of the residents are on fixed incomes such as retired widows, nurses and nursing students, EMTs, couples with children. “Any relief you could give reducing the amount we have to pay or giving us a longer period to pay for it would be greatly helpful,” Pitcher said.
Amy Burton, who also spoke at the meeting, said she sits on her back porch frequently and she didn’t notice the leak in the field. “So, I was quite shocked and I’m still a little shocked seeing that bill,” she said, noting that she is on disability.
Owens said she is authorized to offer a six-month payment plan for leaks under 1,000 gallons, and for those over 1,000 gallons there is a 12-month payment plan. Any payment plan longer than that would require the council’s approval.
John Henning said he has been the town’s attorney since 2006 and he doesn’t remember them ever giving a break on what is due.
The Town Council voted to give the community a 24-month payment plan. That would amount to about $375 per month or $37.50 per resident, in addition to the regular monthly usage.
“I was happy with the Town Council’s decision allowing us to pay this huge bill in installments rather than paying the entire amount immediately. That makes a big difference for me and for others I know. I am grateful for the extra time,” Pitcher said in a follow-up this week. “After explaining the situation, I was hopeful that they would decide to reduce the amount we owed. Once the leak was discovered in a vacant lot it was quickly repaired. No one knew how bad it was until we received the bill. I have been reading the meter myself every few days to watch for any spike in average daily consumption. I don’t know what else I can do at this point.”
Donna Faulkner owns a rental property in the community and emailed the town prior to the meeting saying, “The people in the community are good citizens who are trying to make ends meet as best as possible. Please think of this and deal fairly with us. Water is not a luxury item.”
Following last week’s decision, Faulkner said, “It is unfortunate that the Town of Franklin does not have a better system to detect leaks before they become exorbitant.”
Faulkner said the residents have incurred a large outlay to connect to the town water system followed by the large water bill. “This has been a hardship for many.”