Welcome to Anderson South Carolina History of the City Water Scam Events affecting the City Water Scam How you can help stop this scam City Water Scam News and Information Members Only
The Cost To Date
1
The City of Anderson has collected Million of Dollars of tax revenues from over 10,000 Anderson County Residents (09/01/2004- 3/10/2010 ). These Anderson County Residents have received no services for these dollars. This immoral practice needs to be stopped.

Street Sign Anderson County June 2006
Each month the City of Anderson, South Carolina's water utility Electric City Utilities (ECU) sends some of it's customers a reminder of the Water Scam the City and ECU is running.
The reminder is called a utility bill and ECU charges some of their customers doubled water rates. The victims of this scam are charged higher rates due to the fact that they live in Anderson County outside the City Limits. The added revenue that ECU collects for the City of Anderson has been used in the few years to offset millions in tax revenue. The water scam makes almost 10,000 Anderson County Customers 'City Taxpayers' without the right to vote or the benefit of the services that City Residents receive.
Imagine the City Charging double rates if you were of SWEDISH ORIGIN OR IF YOU HAD RED HAIR? THIS ILLEGAL PRACTICE NEEDS TO END NOW!
 
It gets better (or worse depending on your point of view) The State of South Carolina has very stringent annexation laws, designed to protect residents from being gobbled up by aggressive city expansion.
ECU requires all new customers in Anderson County (even if the water service is already hooked up) to sign an agreement that in part requires the owner and subsequent owners of the property to sign a petition to allow annexation. If the owner or subsequent owner refuses to sign the petition the agreement (which becomes a part of the properties title) gives the City's Lawyer "power of attorney", allowing him to sign these petitions instead of the property owner. The agreement also requires the property owner to automatically become annexed into the City if any part of the City touches their property. The agreement completely bypasses the State's Annexation Laws.
According to real estate statistics approximately 50 percent of all households 'turn over' each three to four years. After that time your neighborhood can be annexed into the City of Anderson and at that time there will be nothing you can do about it.
(Download a copy of the ECU Utility Agreement/ Restrictive Covenants- Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
 
Is this scam Legal? Apparently so. Is this scam right. Definitely not. The Mayor and City Council in Anderson have decided that they can play loose and lively with public utilities, a monopoly and raise revenue as it suits them.
The purpose of this site is to organize victims, to educate Citizens and ultimately, put an end to this Water Scam.
-Our Goals-
  • We call for the Mayor and City Council of Anderson, South Carolina to end this immoral practice. Water is not a luxury item. The water rates should be the same for any customer, not based on where you live or who you can (or can't) vote for. If this practice is OK, why does the State of South Carolina have a Public Service commission to regulate privately owned Utilities?

  • We want the Mayor and City Council to void all of the water contracts that require citizens to become annexed into the City should the City become contiguous with their property.
  • We demand that the Mayor and City Council remove all of the Restrictive Covenants requiring you to sign away your power of attorney to the City of Anderson in all annexation petitions in future elections created under the water contracts.
  • We require the Mayor and City Council refund the doubled rates collected from their Anderson County Resident Customers AND to pay applicable interest to all of the County Residents affected by the scam.

  • We want all utilities operated by the City of Anderson and other municipalities in South Carolina to be placed under the supervision of the Public Services Commission or other independent regulatory authority, to undermine the temptation to commit utility scams on citizens in the future.


If you are a victim of this scam we ask that you spend a few minutes letting us know who you are and if you will be able to assist us with our mission to end this Water Scam.