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Resident says water meter or line issue led to 25,000-gallon bills; requests city investigation
Summary
A homeowner scheduled for annexation reported repeated, unexplained high water-volume readings—up to 28,000 gallons in one month—and asked the council and staff to investigate meter accuracy and possible shared connections with nearby construction.
A resident scheduled to be annexed into the city told Aiken City Council on Monday that she has received unusually large water-volume readings—reports as high as 28,000 gallons in a month—and asked the city to investigate potential meter or line cross-connections.
Maggie Chapman said she bought the house in September and has repeatedly recorded very high monthly usage despite having no leaks, no pool and no irrigation that would account for the totals. Chapman said one month’s reading showed about 28,000 gallons and another month showed 25,000; she said staff replaced her meter in July but the high readings continued.
Why it matters: The city said it serves roughly 22,000 water accounts; unexplained high usage can impose substantial costs on households and indicate infrastructure problems that affect customers broadly.
What the resident and staff said Chapman said she has compared usage with neighbors and found they do not have the same spikes. She said she has attempted to get the builder and developer—named in the transcript as Maybaum and Designer Homes of Georgia—to investigate, but they have not responded and denied a warranty claim. She described app-based usage alerts that showed flow through her meter when no fixtures were in use.
Public-safety staff and water-utility staff told the meeting they had replaced the meter in July and would continue to investigate. Council members and staff encouraged Chapman that they would continue pursuing the matter with the builder and developer and noted that the city has a limited number of accounts with similar unique problems.
What’s next Staff said they will continue to work with Chapman, pursue investigation with the developer and builder, and evaluate whether other customers in the subdivision show similar anomalies. Chapman said she is seeking resolution because bills have reached amounts near $250 for water alone, excluding trash charges.
