Longlea Estates

10-13-03 Article in Charlotte Observer on Water Bills

Bills Drain Hope of Saving

CHEAPER LIVING LURED THEM TO CLOVER AREA ... THEN THE MAIL ARRIVED


Bills drain hope of saving

Neighbors pay hundreds for water, sewer service; leaders cite high costs

JENNIFER TALHELM

Staff Writer


CLOVER - Everyone complimented Shelly Barrett on how much money she saved in taxes and living expenses by moving from Charlotte to Longlea Estates last year.

At 37, she had her first house, a friendly new neighborhood near Charlotte, and her two sons could attend the highly regarded Clover schools -- all for much less than she would have paid over the state line.

And then she opened her first water bill. At close to $200, it was as high as a car payment.

She checked around and discovered everyone in the newly built neighborhood just outside Clover was paying from $150 to nearly $300 a month for water and sewer. It was a shock for many who were used to paying about $35 a month.

None of the real estate agents, builders and others who recommended moving to South Carolina because they'd save money warned them that Clover residents pay some of the highest water rates in York County. And residents who live outside the town limits in Longlea Estates and other neighborhoods pay twice as much as in-town customers.

Town officials say they're sorry, but there's not much they can do. They said the Longlea residents and others are simply paying what it costs to get the water piped to their homes.

"It's one of those things," said Mayor Donnie Grice. "At this point that's the way it has to be designed."

But Longlea residents are furious because they have no choice but to buy Clover water and sewer, yet they can't vote for the town council members who set the rates because they live outside the town limits.

The neighbors are now trying to decide what to do next. They called the state to complain, and officials told them to hire a lawyer. Neighbors are considering a lawsuit. They don't want to move.

Longlea is a Beazer Homes/Crossmann Communities development. Company officials did not return a phone call to The Observer.

High water and sewer rates are a problem for many in York County, where rates vary wildly from town to town. A family of four could pay as little as $35 a month in Rock Hill and as much as $150 or more in York or Clover.

Town and county leaders say a solution is still years away.

Part of the problem in Clover and other towns is that they are building -- or repairing -- water and sewer systems.

Clover, a town of 4,000, originally drew water from wells. But by the mid-1990s, the wells were sucking bottom and going dry.

Town leaders signed a 25-year contract to buy water and sewer services from Gastonia and issued $6.2 million in bonds to extend lines.

To pick up new customers and make future residential growth possible, Clover officials extended water and sewer lines far beyond the town limits.

As a result, Clover's 2,000 or so customers now pay for the bond debt of about $43,000 a month, the Gastonia water bill and the cost to keep up the system.

Town officials expect Clover will eventually grow east, folding Longlea Estates and other neighborhoods into the town limits. But the subdivision is too remote to be annexed now.

"As soon as we get to the point where we're adding customers onto the system, we will reduce the rates," Moulder said.

The homes sell for about $120,000 to $130,000. Many residents say they would have bought elsewhere had they known water would be so expensive.

Instead, they share tips for saving water and hope the rates will go down. Nobody waters the lawn. They don't wash their cars.

Karen Metler uses paper plates and plastic forks so she doesn't have to run the dishwasher.

Theresa Ochieng is constantly nagging her teenagers to take shorter showers. "You should see me, I'm knocking on the door, `Cut the water off!' "