Meter Change Has Fort Mill Residents Confused By High Water Bills

FORT MILL, SC — July’s water bill from York County Sewer & Water had Ali and Benji Sheehan doing a double take.

“The amount was staggering to me,” said Ali Sheehan.

“Our usage is not any different. The family of four didn’t turn into a family of seven,” said Benji Sheehan.

The Sheehan’s have lived in the Baxter neighborhood of Fort Mill for nearly a year. They said their water bill is usually around $30.

Earlier this summer, the county had their meter and many others in the Baxter neighborhood changed.

Brian Barger says he asked the county for a usage report after he received a $300 water bill for last month. He says his bill is usually 1/3 of it.  In that report, he found out his home used 2,500 gallons of water in a 24 hour period but, he doesn’t have information from some other days that month.

“They won’t they won’t address it. They’ll just say you need to get a get a plumber,” said Barger.

That’s the response the Sheehan’s received when they asked about their bill.

“It seemed like the default response was. You must have a leak. If you hire a plumber or irrigation specialist to do the repair or come back with your bill, and then we can talk about it,” Ali Sheehan said.

After several attempts to figure out their bill, the Sheehan’s say the county dropped its price from $600 to $167

York County Water and Sewer wrote in a statement to WCCB News:

“This is not a Baxter-wide or County wide issue regarding high usage billing.  Any issue related to a customer’s water usage/high bill is better evaluated on an individual basis. Customers may contact York County Water & Sewer directly so that we may promptly evaluate and address any concerns.

York County is currently in the process of replacing all meters in the York County service areas. These new meters are yielding more accurate water usage readings; potentially resulting in higher bills for some customers.”