Recent water bills have caused concern among some Ironton residents.

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Recent water bills have caused concern among some Ironton residents.

Over the past few months, city water users have noticed a fluctuation in their water bills which has lead to some questions. Resident Warren Harmon said his water bill has ranged from $40 to $53 in the last few months, while water subscriber Clay Patterson said in the last few months, his water bill has increased about $4.50 per bill.

"I was in Florida for about 6 weeks," said Harmon "and when I returned, the water bill was the highest it has ever been."

Patterson said when water bills were charged every quarter instead of on a monthly cycle, the price was only about $15 for three months.

"We pay more in a month for water bills now than what we did every three months," Harmon said.

The city switched from quarterly billing to a monthly cycle several years ago and since then fees have been added to the water bill.

"I don’t think they should add the fees to the water bill," Harmon said. "A water bill should just be for water."

Charlene Thomas, a water works clerk for the city, said the higher water bills are the result of waterline breaks in February.

She said bad weather in February caused about 40 breaks, and the city had to estimate water bills. She said the higher water bills were a result of adjusting the difference between the estimated water consumption and the actual use of water.

"Every billing period we get some bills that are little high," said Thomas, adding that bills due in March are expected to be "in line" with actual water use.