During its monthly meeting this week, the Pickens Water Authority moved to revisit one of its policies. The move was in response to two requests addressed at the February meeting, pertaining to high water bills, seemingly due to leakage issues.

The first request came from Nena Patrick and her family. Mrs. Patrick requested that she pay her family’s water bill of approximately $1300 for 175,000 gallons for the month in installments. Patrick said that her family has never paid a water bill that high and that the high price was due to a leak. Patrick petitioned the water authority to pay the bill in installments. She said that she and her husband are currently out of work, with a daughter in high school.

“We just don’t have the money to pay this,”

Patrick said. Initially, the board agreed to allow payments and lower the bill so the Patricks would pay the cost price of the water, rather than full price. Later in the meeting, however, the board discovered that a check was received—perhaps, from the Patricks’ landlord–against the bill for $568. The water authority board then changed its decision to accept the $568 check and forgive the rest of the bill, on the premise that the amount was comparable to cost price of the water.

Absent from the meeting, Jeff Roland also requested to pay a high bill in installments. Roland’s bill was for approximately $1900 for 256,000 gallons of water. This second request, however, forged the notion of equability.

“We gonna sell his water at cost just like we did these others?”

Board member Revere Fowler wanted to know. Member Richard Hancock, however, said that Roland did not ask for his bill to be reduced to cost. Fowler responded that neither did the Patricks.

As such, the two requests forced the board to review the county’s policy regarding bill adjustment. According to the county’s current policy customers are allowed

“a one-time adjustment for a five (5) year period. This will cover any and all accounts that they have… Any future leaks or abnormally high usages that occur will be charged to the customer at the standard rate.”

Both cases discussed at the meeting had received their one adjustment allotment for five-year term. In the meeting, the board decided that the current policy will stay in place, with a new section added to the current one. In a motion made by Revere Fowler and seconded by Ray Roberts, the new section states

“anyone with a large bill (100,00 gallons usage and over) be allowed to pay only the cost Pickens County accrues to provide that amount of water to the customers. At this time that cost is $4.41 per 1000 gallons.”

During the subsequent discussion, the board asserted it wanted to be consistent and fair. The new addition to the policy, the board believes, will accomplish this goal.

The board is expected to vote on the new addition to the policy next month. The next water authority meeting is scheduled for March 19th at 6:30 P.M. in the small conference room in the County Administrative Buildings on West Church Street.