Whistleblower 9: Townhouse complex sends residents tab after water bills skyrocket

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — A southwest Charlotte townhome complex’s water bills are mysteriously going up … way up.

Calloway Glen’s homeowners association faces serious debt because it cannot afford the bills.

The HOA told Whistleblower 9 that it has done everything it can to reach out to the city. They even hired their own plumbers to investigate.

Neighborhood association manager Sandy Griffin showed Whistleblower 9 the city water meter she believes is responsible for bills that have skyrocketed over the last year for the 161 townhomes.

The HOA pays water for the entire complex, and Griffin showed us the bills that total $1,500-$2,100 per month for the first half of 2010.

Griffin said Calloway Glen is now nearly $30,000 behind.

“Somebody has to come up here and get this fixed for the community, for the people who live here,” said homeowner Tear Johnson.

Neither the management company nor the city can agree on whose problem it is.

A Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities Department representative said it's checked its equipment and believes there's a leak somewhere on Calloway Glen property.

But Griffin finds that hard to believe.

“I've had three different plumbers out here trying to locate the leak. (They) cannot locate a leak on this property,” she said.

“Is there any spongy ground?” asked Whistleblower 9’s Jim Bradley.

“Nothing,” Griffin said.“Any water pooling?” Bradley asked.“Nothing,” she said.

Rather than finding a solution, homeowners have gotten an assessment from their HOA for $250 each to help pay the community water bill.

Neighbor Kim Walker isn't happy about it.

Bradley asked Walker, “You don’t want to pay it?”

“No and I haven’t and I don’t plan on it,” she said.

Johnson just wants someone to figure out what's going on, and wants the city to play a part.

Bradley asked Johnson, “If they say that's not their job? “

“I think it is their job. I'm a tax payer. It is their job to come out here regardless if it's on their side or our side. We don't know what side it's on. So why aren’t they out here,” Johnson said.

The utilities department declined Whistleblower 9’s requests for an on-camera interview but did say there is a possibility the city could help Calloway Glen figure out if there's a leak on their side of the property. They are not committing resources yet.

In the meantime, the neighborhood association said its water bills remain out of control.

WSOC