In an economy where most people are just managing to get by, a couple in Pennsylvania is opening up about how their sewer bill spiked alarmingly after the Democrats changed the way the rates are calculated in the summer of 2024. A post on X identified the couple as Bret and Megan Hamilton, whose sewer bill had skyrocketed from $75 a month to $344 a month. “They are charging us for a service that they are not even doing,” Megan lamented in the video.
The previous sewer bill was a $74 flat rate but had been changed to a metered rate based on the water flowing into the home. The bill was supposed to be for the water treatment. However, Bret argued that not all the water they used in the home went into the drain for treatment. “They are not cleaning all the water. If you turn on a hose and leave it on the front yard for 20 minutes to water the trees, the lawn… Water never reaches the wastewater system,” he claimed
Bret had filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission. However, it was dismissed as they stated that there wasn’t anything “unreasonable” with the new rate. “We are not taking 15 more showers every month. We are not flushing the toilet over and over again,” Bret stated, arguing that they used more water outdoors in the summer, so the fact that their bill was increasing made no sense.
The couple was not alone in their fight against the new rate. Other community members also showed up at a meeting to confront Community Utilities over the hike in their bills.
“They have gone up about 600%,” a local complained. Though nothing has been done on the rate hike, a spokesperson for Community Utilities said they were open to looking into irrigation meters in the future so the water used outdoors could be monitored. The Hamiltons are still frustrated. “No one’s listening on the local level,” they lamented. “No one’s listening on the state level.” The community members were not the only ones displeased with the hike. The comments were also flooded quickly by people who shared their sentiment.
“I look at those numbers and think of families who already struggle with food, rent, and energy. Now they face a 600 per cent jump overnight because someone behind a desk decided to treat every drop of water as waste,” someone wrote. Another added, “The entire economic system is held together by an affordable utility system (i.e. water, sewer, gas, electric, trash.) When those seemingly insignificant basic needs are no longer met, everything else falls apart. Everyone who played SimCity understands this.”
A user noted that the hike in bills was not peculiar to Pennsylvania alone. “These types of things are happening all over the country. Homeowners insurance rates have increased; also, I live in a Democrat-controlled Maryland, so my gas and electric have spiraled out of control as well.”
Someone else realized they had it easier and wrote, “I will never complain about my water bill again. 344 [expletive] dollars. Holy [expletive].” One said, “That’s outrageous. People shouldn’t be punished for watering their lawn.”
