This petition is to remove Water Resources Inc. as the water supply company for Rocky River Plantation and Highland Ridge in Cabarrus County.

The owner of the utility, Dennis Abbott, is knowingly continuing to operate in violation of state law.

We want to be clear this will not require any annexation into Harrisburg, we only seek to remove Water Resources in favor of a different water supplier.

WBTV Investigates

• This link "Water provider in Cabarrus community refuses to fix leaking meters." The first story by David Hodges, which aired on WBTV in Charlotte. 
• This link "Water provider in Cabarrus County neglects to fix the problem after radium contaminants shutdown well", contains two follow-up stories by Mr. Hodges, which subsequently aired on WBTV (media segments are embedded in the article - the first was on the 6:00 news, the second on the 5:00 news). The second video (scroll down to view) is perhaps the most alarming due to the possible contamination of our drinking water, and also clearly demonstrates that the owner of the utility, Dennis Abbott, is knowingly continuing to operate in violation of state law.
• This link "Lawmakers take note of WBTV investigation into water utility." We need to get as many people involved by sharing your water issues with WBTV investigative reporter, David Hodges, david.hodges@wbtv.com

For over 10 years, homeowners in Rocky River Plantation and Highland Ridge in Cabarrus County have daily been suffering from low/no water pressure, brown water, cloudy water, angled meter boxes, leaking meters, missing water main lids, water heaters and in-home filtration systems being clogged with sediment, billing issues, etc. 

As of June 2021

Water Resources Inc, is in violation of their permits and NCDEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) is actively seeking enforcement action against them. They have been issued a Notice of Violation, as well as Civil Penalties.

According to regulators: "The consequences of having only one source, for a system with more than 50 connections, is significantly elevated public health risk. Any disruptions/outages/failures of the sole remaining source results in inadequate pressure in the distribution system, which provides opportunity for contaminants to enter the system. This results in a sanitation issue which elevates public health risk, as washing hands, flushing toilets, bathing, and food prep activities are all compromised."

General timeline

• March 12, 2019 Water Resources Inc. fails to report Lead and Copper levels to NCDEQ.
• On August 30, 2019, NCUC Docket No. W-1034, SUB 8 “Status of Deficiency Corrections Noted in the Recommended Order Approving”- The 2018 water rate increase approval comes with stipulations. Some stipulations include replacing 25 yr old meters, providing advance notice when flushing the system, improving  customer service communications/returning calls within 1 hour, responding to outages within 1 hour, retaining a call log of customer complaints, etc. https://starw1.ncuc.net/NCUC/page/docket
• On October 22, 2020, the Public Water System (PWS) Section of the NCDEQ issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Water Resources, Inc. for violation of 15A NCAC 18C .0402(g)(5) at Rocky River Plantation Subdivision. The cited rule requires a residential community water system, designed to serve 50 or more connections from a well water source of supply, to provide at least two sources of supply.   
• On February 3, 2021, the PWS Section issued an administrative penalty of $4,500 and a continuing penalty of $50 per day of continuing violation of the rule cited in the October 22, 2020 NOV.
• The violation remains unresolved. Despite the Notice of Violation, Administrative Penalty assessment, and the demand letter, at present, Water Resources, Inc. has not achieved compliance. NCDEQ is evaluating other options and next steps to bring them into compliance to resolve this issue.

This petition is to remove Water Resources Inc. as our water supply company.

Show support by signing and show the NC Utilities Commission, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Department of Justice, the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, and our state representatives that urgency is needed in this matter to remove Water Resources as our water company because they have repeatedly failed to provide one of our basic needs - clean, reliable water.