CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. — Kaylee Carter has been dealing with water problems in her central Virginia home for as long as she can remember.
“It scares me to put my daughter in it, because I don't know what's in it,” Carter said. “When the water is brown there's no telling.”
Carter has lived on the Heritage side of the Lake Land’Or community since she was a child. Now she is raising a sixteen-month-old of her own in the same house getting its water and wastewater services from a private company, Aqua Virginia.
“It stains our clothes, it damages things, I mean it causes a lot of problems in our life,” Carter said.
Aqua recently flushed the Lake Land’Or water distribution system for planned maintenance over an 11-day stretch. They asked customers to not do their laundry during the time as the temporarily discolored water could stain their clothes.
It was only the latest in what Carter said has been an increasing number of incidents in recent years. Customers reported similar issues with brown water during Labor Day weekend, which CBS 6 learned to be the result of elevated levels of iron and manganese.
When Aqua flushes their system, they ask customers to clean the aerators on their faucets, flush their water lines and water heaters — extra steps many are taking on top of regularly replacing their water filters and buying bottled water for a hefty cost.
Now, Aqua is asking the State Corporation Commission to allow them to raise their water and wastewater prices for every single one of their 190 local systems across 37 different counties in Virginia. They have 65 full-time employees for the whole state.
Lake Land‘Or residents already pay some of the highest prices in Virginia. Only four counties have more expensive water bills, according to a report by the Virginia Association of Counties.
If the SCC allows Aqua’s rate hikes to go through, Lake Land’Or and Heritage customers will face a $6.40 base fee increase, and a $2.74 increase for every 1,000 gallons of water they use.
The average household in Lake Land’Or uses about 4,000 gallons each month, according to Caroline County officials. Under Aqua’s proposed prices, families on the Heritage side of Lake Land’Or, who receive both water and wastewater from Aqua, would have to pay about $50 more each month for their combined water and wastewater bills.
At 4,000 gallons per month, Aqua’s water costs more than double the price of Caroline County’s public water utility, which does not reach Lake Land’Or.
“How can you charge us more money for something we can’t even use?” Carter said. "I can’t wash my daughter’s clothes. I can’t cook with this water. I’m scared to clean with it, wash my dishes and my daughter’s bottles.”
Caroline County Supervisor Jeff Black represents the district that includes Lake Land’Or. He said the problems with Aqua have been going on for decades, longer than when he joined the Board in 2012.
Aqua has requested similar utility price increases for their systems every two-three years since at least 2006, though the SCC has always approved them for less than what they ask for, according to numbers provided by Caroline County officials. In 2006, 4,000 gallons of water in a month at Lake Land’Or only cost about $30.
“This is not a want, this is a need,” Black said. “Can you imagine not being able to afford water in your household?”
At least 56 people from Caroline, Palmyra, Mechanicsville and other Virginia localities submitted comments to the SCC opposing Aqua’s rate hikes.
“I am writing as a mother who is already struggling to pay bills,” one commenter from Palmyra wrote. “Aqua's water quality is terribly bad around here.”
“This is price gouging for a lower quality service,” another commenter from Cross Junction wrote.
The SCC is able to regulate utilities like water, wastewater and electricity. They will decide whether or not to approve Aqua’s requested rate hikes — and nearly $8 million in added revenue — in 2026.
The SCC only has the power to delay the implementation of Aqua’s new prices by 180 days after their initial filing. Customers could see bigger bills as soon as Jan. 26.
If Aqua decides to implement its new prices before the SCC makes its final decision, and the SCC ultimately approves them for less than what they are asking for, Aqua will have to refund customers the difference. The company did the same for their 2023 rate case.
CBS 6 reached out to Aqua to ask what their additional revenue would be spent on. They stated they have invested and will continue to invest in projects across their 37-county footprint designed to provide customers with safe and reliable water and wastewater services.
Aqua stated they will continue to flush out water systems and carry our repairs and maintenance. Their recent maintenance at Lake Land’Or was to install sixteen flush-off valves to help remove debris and sediment from their water system.
Aqua is in the process of conducting maintenance at its water storage tanks, valves and treatment facilities and is securing a contractor to assist with more complex maintenance items.
Aqua sends customers regular updates through their Watersmart Alerts system.
“Aqua Virginia’s number one priority is the health and safety of our customers,“ the company stated.
Aqua’s nationwide president Colleen Arnold received a total compensation of about $764,000 in 2022. Her 2024 compensation was about $994,000 — an increase of nearly $230,000, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement.
When asked why the compensations for executives have been raised — and outpaced inflation — while customers are seeing little to no improvement with their services, Aqua told CBS 6 their compensation program is designed to be competitive with their industry peers, and appropriately correlates with their performance goals.
Aqua’s parent company, Essential Utilities Inc., operates water and wastewater systems in multiple states up and down the east coast. They announced in October they would be merging with their main competitor, American Water.
“So that’s the frustrating part,” Black said. "There is somebody making a huge amount of money at the top, and the residents are told ‘hey, you can’t have water for the weekend.’”
Caroline County residents have planned an informal meeting with Black, an Aqua representative, and a representative from the Virginia Department of Health at the Heritage Club House on Nov. 18, where they plan to share frustrations about their water quality and prices.
The SCC is set to conduct a public hearing on Aqua’s rate hikes on April 28 in Richmond. People are able to sign up to provide comments at the hearing over the phone.
“We’re hoping that a big crowd shows up to these hearings and says ‘enough is enough,’” Black said.
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