Very high water bills (for WELL water) (Dahlonega, Lumpkin: flat fee, home)

[DahlonegaMom]

Where I live, the county has a monopoly on well water. The county has gone up on rates again. Untreated well water (ground water) now costs me $70 a month! (Lumpkin county Georgia) This is just regular WELL water and the well sits on the edge of my property. The lady that accepts water payments says "$70 is the average bill now".
　
This neighborhood was originally set up with "community wells" and the charge was originally a flat fee of $20 per month. Now that the City of Dahlonega took over they have tripled the rate. Just to have a meter is $31.50 before you use the first drop of water. You don't have a choice but to "rent" their meter. Two of my neighbor’s currently have bills over $100. If the average was just $50 per month, the county would be making over $10,000 every month in just my neighborhood alone by charging us for the ground water here. I understand that each well occasionally needs maintenance and they do put bleach in the well a couple times a year (yes, bleach. $1.00 a gallon and each well takes about a half gallon to kill the bacteria in it) But, how do they justify making SO much profit off our ground water??

[DahlonegaMom]

Originally Posted by DahlonegaMom

Where I live, the county has a monopoly on well water.

I should clarify... Lumpkin county doesn’t have a ‘true monopoly’ on the well water. Last year a story was printed in the paper saying that the county trying to have a monopoly on all ground water was actually illegal. Apparently Lumpkin county was trying to make it illegal for home owners to use their own private wells. But, all these wells that they already had taken over are still under their control. I believe the majority of the well water in Dahlonega is under their control.

[LumpkinBumpkin]

You must live on my road, jeff sullens? We can afford to have A well drilled right now but must have water so they do have A monopoly. More like A black-male. The turned our water off yesterday. I got in the managers face up there at the water authority and now they wont even answer my questions. They just tell me to leave of they will call lumpkin co. police.

I think they may be converting the reading on the meter from cubic feet to gallons but my meter reads gallons! The jerk at LCWA wont even talk to me now so I cant find out if this is what is going on.

We need to get together and protest on the sidewalk up there because $75 - $100 per month for 3500 gallons is rediculous.

Let me know what you come up with!
Kevin.