‘Instant rage’: Madison residents concerned over water bill spike

By Brendan Tierney

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    MADISON, Tennessee (WSMV) — Neighbors at a Madison apartment complex are trying to figure out why their utility bills skyrocketed this month.

Residents at the 333 Apartments said they’ve been complaining all week about a much higher water bill, but even the property manager said he doesn’t know why the bills went up so much.

Angela Gilchrist said she started crying when she saw her bill because her family is on a fixed income and could not afford a $30 increase.

“Instant rage,” Gilchrist said about her reaction opening the $97 bill. “Hollering why is this? What’s going on? Why are these people so crooked they can’t do their jobs?”

Many of her neighbors, including Ernest Ezell, said this is the highest they’ve ever seen. Ezell said he had never thought about how much water he used until opening his utility bill that increased from $34 to $55.

“Oh man, I’ve been frustrated for three days,” Ezell said. “Back in the day (if you got a $20 increase) you went on and paid and forgot about it. But right now, with the inflation the way it is, everything counts. You go to the grocery store. The meat, everything is high.”

Neighbors said there have been problems with their water meters over the past couple of months leading their bills to be estimated off the complex’s total usage, but that doesn’t explain the massive rate hike.

WSMV reached out to the Madison Suburban Utility District that provides water to the apartment complex to see if this increase had anything to do with last month’s water main break. We were told the break happened before the meter and is not even part of this current billing cycle. Additionally, the apartment complex’s usage went down last month, and rates have not increased.

That’s left residents confused about the increased utility bill from their apartment complex.

Gilchrist said her normal bill is already high, so they stopped using the dishwasher and only shower every other day to save water.

“There are just two of us. That’s it,” Gilchrist said. “My bill is $65 and now it’s $97. Somebody somewhere is doing something and us little people are stuck in the middle.”

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