RICHMOND, Va. — Years of frustration with private water provider Aqua Virginia and its state regulator, the State Corporation Commission (SCC), poured out from customers at a hearing regarding the company's request for a rate hike.
Residents in the Lake Land'Or community in Caroline County are fed up with brown water, service disruptions, and repeated price increases, and they oppose any rate increase. CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit first started reporting on these issues in August of last year.
Things reached a tipping point over Memorial Day weekend in 2025 when residents experienced a serious water service incident that made drinking, cooking, showering, and laundry impossible for over 24 hours. Customers received a $5 credit in return.
"I ask the commission to consider this personally if you were paying hundreds of dollars for unacceptable water, would you allow your family to live under these conditions — this is the reality we are living with," Pamela Taylor, a Lake Land'or resident, said as she started to cry.
Now, Aqua is requesting that the State Corporation Commission allow them to increase their rates.
According to numbers supplied by Caroline County, an average customer that uses 4,000 gallons of water per month would see their combined water and sewer bill go up about $50 a month.
"I have never ever gotten a raise comparable to what Aqua is asking for," Crystal McGee, a Lake Land'or resident, said.
Hipolit tried to talk to Aqua Virginia President John Aulbach about the customers' concerns, but he said he had to focus on the hearing.
Just days before the SCC hearing, SCC staff and Aqua Virginia jointly submitted a stipulation, which a spokesperson for the SCC described as essentially a settlement proposal.
It would reduce the amount of water and wastewater revenues Aqua requested by 32%, which would likely reduce the original rate hike request.
"It is a reasonable resolution based on the facts and circumstances of this case," Kiva Bland Pierce, SCC staff, said.
Hearing Examiner Borden Ellis will make a recommendation about the stipulation to the SCC’s commissioners, who will then make a ruling in the future.
"The evidence and records will show the stipulation is full and fair resolution of all the issues in this case and stipulation is likewise in the public’s interest," John Byrum, an attorney representing Aqua, said.
Caroline County Supervisor Jeff Black, who lives in Lake Land'Or, told Ellis he was disheartened to learn about the stipulation.
Black pointed to the SCC's mission to strive to apply law and regulation to balance the interests of citizens, businesses, and customers before stating "your mission has failed."
State Delegate Nicole Cole (D-House District 66) also raised questions about the function of the SCC, and if it was fulfilling its mission.
"The SCC exists because there is no free market to protect customers in monopoly utility situations," Cole said. "If this commission is not fufilling that function it’s effectively functioning in the interest of the utilities its regulates rather than the costumers those utilites are obligated to serve
Aqua Virginia previously stated it is taking multiple steps to resolve issues, including two projects in 2026 which are estimated to result in a $1 million investment.
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