CHARLOTTE, N.C. – 14.5 miles away from the shores of Tega Cay in south Charlotte are corporate offices for the company responsible for the system that is dumping this into Lake Wylie. Utilities, Inc. has become a four letter word around the growing South Carolina town.
For years now, the aging water and wastewater infrastructure it maintains in Tega Cay has repeatedly failed, releasing hundreds of thousands of gallons of dirty water. Residents, and now, town leaders are growing increasingly frustrated and demanding action. “We understand people are frustrated,” says Chief Operating Officer John Hoy. He sat down for an interview with WCCB News @ Ten anchor Morgan Fogarty on Thursday. He was in town from Orlando to survey the system.
He says, “It’s not just one problem. Not just one fix is gonna solve it over night.” Hoy says the problems include the age of the 50 plus mile system (it was built in the 70s), the pipes themselves (pourous, crackable clay) and the hilly landscape of Tega Cay. “There are places we can’t even get to, to repair it,” says Hoy.
Utilities, Inc. bought the system in the early 90s. Hoy says they’ve spent $3 million over the last three years on system repairs. Future repairs could include replacing or lining all 50+ miles of pipe – both costly options – that customer rate hikes might cover.
Fogarty asked Hoy, “The residents would say, ‘we shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the repairs to a system that we didn’t create or maintain.’ What would you say to that?” Hoy replied, “Well, we didn’t create the system either. We weren’t there when the system was built. I don’t think anybody talking about it today was. We own it, we have an obligation to fix it. That’s our duty, but, and we will work to do that. But we can’t, it can’t be said we are obligated to fix it and have to bear all the cost to do that.”
The most recent spill was last week. Kids still swam in the water. Would Hoy? “Yeah, I’d be comfortable saying that when those signs are lifted, that it’s safe to swim in the water.”
Hoy says an advisory group will meet next week to discuss the problems and solutions. Tega Cay Mayor George Sheppard tells WCCB there’s been enough talk; now they want action.
