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Residents press water board over access, metering and disconnect notices
Summary
Residents at the Harsha Potashaw Water and Sewer Utility Board meeting urged the board to investigate private lines and lack of service on multiple roads and raised complaints about disconnection without notice; the Board committed to follow up and review disconnect procedures.
At its September meeting the Harsha Potashaw Water and Sewer Utility Board heard extended public comment about lack of water access on many rural roads, questions about metering of fire-suppression lines and hydrant fills, and a customer complaint about a service disconnection that the customer said occurred without proper notice.
Jack Williams, introduced as a resident and customer, told the Board he and neighbors have had persistent delivery problems on multiple roads and said some customers had built private lines to receive water. Williams asked the Board to investigate and prioritize repairs; the Board acknowledged a 20-year plan completed in 2022 and said funding and state grant requirements constrained the pace of work. The Board committed to examine Williams—s specific request and to have staff investigate the private lines and meter status.
Resident Ryan Greenleaf said his service was disconnected without receiving a notice and described paying several times his normal bill to restore service. Greenleaf said his mailed bills had been sent to the wrong address for years. Board staff explained mailing/address handling history, noted that the utility—s lawyer had previously reviewed and approved current disconnect procedures, and reiterated that, under the state procedure cited by staff, the bill and bill language constitute the facility's required notice. Staff said they would review the disconnect procedures again in response to Greenleaf—s concerns.
Other public commenters described the scale of need across the service area: the Board noted a list of 52 roads prioritized in its plan and explained that connecting sparsely populated roads can cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per mile, which places technical and legal limits on what grant money and local budgets can achieve. Board members stressed they are pursuing grants and regionalization options but said funding remains constrained.
Why it matters: Residents— appeals highlight how grant rules, per-customer economics and state eligibility criteria affect decisions on which lines the utility can extend or repair. The disconnect complaint highlights a recurring customer-service tension between enforcement of payment rules and efforts to provide notice and avoid disconnection.
Board follow-up: the Board asked staff to verify meter and hydrant-use records (including records needed for TDEC reporting), to investigate the private lines and road-specific claims raised by residents, and to re-review the disconnect-notice process and notify the complainant of next steps.
The public comment period closed with the Board promising additional investigation and with no immediate reversal of policy; the Board will report back as staff gathers records and legal guidance.
