'If you don't do this, we're going to shut your water': Texas residents challenge $4,500 meter demand

Residents showed up at a water board meeting in Potosi, Texas, after letters from the local utility warned that households using one water meter for more than one home could have their service cut off.

What many in the room feared most was the cost: keeping the water on could mean spending thousands of dollars on an additional meter.

What happened?

According to a report from KTXS 12, the meeting of the Potosi Water Supply Corporation drew a large crowd after some customers were notified that sharing one connection between multiple residences might require a second meter to avoid shutoff.

Potosi resident Bobbi Brukessot said the letters caught families off guard, with the quoted installation of a new water meter estimated to be $4,500. 

"They're saying, I got to come up with $4,500. And they didn't even say, hey, this is what's going on. We need to work this out and see what we can do," Brukessot told KTXS.

To Brukessot, the notice read as a direct threat.

"No, they said, if you don't do this, we're going to shut your water. I was like, are you kidding me?"

As KTXS reported, before any presentation began, the board opened the floor to public comment, and the board president noted the frustrations in the room, saying, "I know it's a lot of people here, a lot of concerns."

Residents at the meeting repeatedly pressed the utility on how a second meter could cost nearly $4,500, with one speaker saying the price "seems a little steep and high."

Another resident said the charge was unaffordable.

"How am I going to justify paying $4,500 for a meter? I can't afford it. I am on disability," one resident said.

Why does it matter?

Potosi officials claimed the number of meters helps determine the population of the system and the level of water testing required under state rules, KTXS reported. 

Residents said they still were not getting a clear answer on why the policy was being enforced in this way or how the money would be spent.

Several people asked for an itemized breakdown covering equipment, labor, licensing, and contractor costs.

One resident voiced that suspicion plainly.

"It just looks to me like this whole deal is not about water but about money and charging people $40 extra every month before they use a drop of water."

What's being done?

The board has not reached a final decision.

According to KTXS, members voted to table the matter so more information can be gathered and more board members can be present, giving residents a temporary reprieve from immediate action.

KTXS noted officials also told attendees that any change to the current policy would require revising the utility's tariff and undergoing further review.

Residents also asked for exceptions for people who have lived in the area for decades, saying they should be grandfathered in. 

"We've been here since 1979... and now this is happening," one resident said, as KTXS reported.

Another resident said, "I beg y'all to consider waiving this for those of us that have been out here for many, many years."

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