Mint Hill residents upset with water company, color of water

MINT HILL, N.C. — Residents in a Mint Hill subdivision said Friday they are upset over problems with their water company.

There are more than 160 homes in the Ashe Plantation subdivision, and Sharon Decker, the president of the homeowners’ association, said more than 50 percent of her neighbors have complained about what they say are abnormally high water bills and water they are scared to drink.

“How do we know it’s not doing something to our bodies? We don’t know,” Decker said.

Decker said almost quarterly, the water that runs from her faucet is muddy-looking, and other neighbors have made similar complaints.

“My water was black. The toilet tank, it looked like somebody poured oil in it,” Decker said.

“The water is dirty. It looks like coffee grounds,” said homeowner Roman Tsiukes.

Some neighbors in Ashe Plantation said they cannot live without water filters, and even those are saturated with the muddy buildup after just a few months.

On top of that, Decker said she and her neighbors are paying unusually high bills.

"My bill usually runs $180, whether I use anything or not."

Her latest bill was more than $200. The bulk of the money was for using about 23,000 gallons of water for the month.

She said she thinks it’s a meter problem and complained, but she said it has not been fixed yet.

The water company, Aqua North Carolina, responded promptly, saying, "If a customer has a concern about water quality, an Aqua representative will visit the property and test the water."

The company added, "Water quality in Ashe Plantation meets all state and federal environmental regulations."

The company also said it gets permission from the state for all its water rates. The state utilities commission said the company has had some complaints, but not an unusual number.

Residents in Ashe Plantation are planning to meet with other Aqua customers to discuss the problems at a meeting on July 13.

The meeting will be at Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation on Olde Sycamore Drive in Charlotte. That meeting starts at 7 p.m.

WSOC