Some Water Customers Complain of High Bills

  Some customers of West Virginia American Water are questioning why their bills went up even though they didn’t use their tap water for several days after a chemical spill.

Harry Machado of Winfield tells The Charleston Gazette that his latest bill was about 40 percent more than the previous one.

About 300,000 water customers in nine counties were told not to use their tap water after a Jan. 9 chemical spill at Freedom Industries went into the Elk River. After tests were conducted over several days, customers were told to flush out their lines and start using tap water again.

A water company spokeswoman says the flushing might account for much of the increase. A promised 1,000-gallon credit on water bills for the flushing hasn’t been applied yet.