NC homeowners are pleading for state to block ‘inexcusable’ 34% water rate hike
For homeowners served by Carolina Water Service, there is no shopping around — and many say their water bills are rising faster than they can afford.
Homeowners in more than 40 communities across North Carolina are urging state regulators to reject proposed water and sewer rate increases from Carolina Water Service, saying the private utility’s customers already pay far more than nearby cities and towns for a basic service they cannot opt out of. Customers say they hope the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the state agency responsible for oversight of private utilities, denies Carolina Water’s request.
Residents in Lake Norman-area neighborhoods including The Point, The Farms and Harbour at The Pointe say their water bills have climbed sharply in recent years and would rise again under Carolina Water’s current three-year rate proposal. According to filings and testimony submitted to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the plan would raise water rates by 34% over three years from $13.78 per 1,000 gallons today to $18.46 by 2029.
According to a petition urging the Utilities Commission to reject the proposed increases, the change would result in roughly $230 monthly bills for a typical household using 3,000 gallons of water.
Because some communities are bound to Carolina Water by long-standing development agreements, or are unable to be reached by city water, many customers cannot switch providers.
The proposed increases prompted complaints to lawmakers, letters to regulators and outreach to the governor and attorney general, according to residents. Homeowners say recent state-level scrutiny of utilities, including Gov. Josh Stein’s opposition to Duke Energy’s proposed electricity rate hikes, prompted them to reach out to lawmakers and regulators.
State Rep. Todd Carver, a Republican who represents parts of the Mooresville area, said he decided to write to the Utilities Commission after hearing from residents alarmed by the scale of the proposed increases. Carver said in an email to The Charlotte Observer he has responded to over 100 complaints since he first heard about the issue from his constituents.
Carver framed his concerns as a matter of fairness, particularly for customers who have no choice but to purchase water from Carolina Water.
“We are concerned the rate increase has nothing to do with the cost of the service but rather the profitability of the company,” Carver said. “Every company should be entitled to make a reasonable profit, but gouging customers who have no choice but to buy a product is fundamentally unfair.”
Residents interviewed by the Observer described monthly bills that already regularly reach into the hundreds of dollars, even without lawn sprinklers. Documents shared by homeowners and submitted to regulators show typical two-person households can pay about $175 per month for water and sewer service, with higher bills during peak usage periods. For those with higher usage and lawns to water, bills have already reached up to $1,000 for a month.
The average water and sewer bill in Charlotte, for comparison, is $80 per month, according to the city.
More than Mooresville
At public hearings held by the Utilities Commission, customers from across the state described similar struggles, according to transcripts.
“I firmly believe, our board firmly believes, and our owners think that the proposal to double the rate in year one and almost triple the rate in year three is egregious and a rate shock at its best,” HOA president and Carolina Water customer James Moore testified in Avery County in November.
Laura Caporino, who testified in Jacksonville on Dec. 10, said her water bill is already more expensive than her electric bill, and she would consider selling her house if the rate increase is approved.
“I’m not just appalled, I’m angry,” she said. “If Carolina Water gets another increase, I’m putting my house up for sale, and I’ll be lucky if I can sell it because everybody that knows about Carolina Water will not buy in our neighborhood.”
Ron Phipps, who said he lives in a retirement community served by Carolina Water in Avery County, told commissioners his current bill already averages about $165 per month. If the hikes are approved, he said he would likely pay $250 per month.
“I would like to ask anybody that works for Carolina Water if they’ve ever had any concept of a bill that high,” Phipps said. ”This is insane.”
Carver compared those figures to municipal water rates in Mooresville, which he said have risen modestly over the past eight years. For residents inside town limits, the town charges a fixed monthly fee of $8 and rates that range from $4.66 per 1,000 gallons for the first 5,000 gallons to $7.46 per 1,000 gallons for usage above 10,000 gallons.
Mooresville also sells treated water wholesale to Carolina Water Service, billing the private utility $4.18 per 1,000 gallons as of Jan. 1, 2026, town officials said. Lake Norman-area residents say it’s unfair Carolina Water customers are charged significantly more for the same water Mooresville residents get.
Jeff Wenberg, president of the Carolina Trace Association in Sanford, has helped organize a statewide petition urging regulators to reject Carolina Water’s rate request.
The petition has more than 3,600 signatures representing at least 40 communities across North Carolina, Wenberg said.
The petition argues Carolina Water’s current rates already exceed the statewide average for municipal water and sewer service and that, if the proposed increases are approved, customers would pay nearly three times the North Carolina average. Wenberg said that rate increases at that level would be unsustainable for low- and moderate-income households and that a significant share of households in Carolina Water–served communities earn below the state median income.
“That is completely unsustainable for quite a large number of the folks in my community and apparently in a great many other communities that they serve across the state,” Wenberg said. “Its just gotten to the point where something has to give and it can’t continue to be the wallets of the rate payers.”
He pointed to recent debate over Duke Energy’s proposed 15% electricity rate hike, which Gov. Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson publicly opposed on affordability grounds, as evidence utility costs are becoming unsustainable.
“I’m sorry, but if 15% is unaffordable, 34% is inexcusable,” Wenberg said. “And that’s what we’re facing now.”
Governor, attorney general weigh in
A spokesperson for Stein told the Observer the governor’s office has been in contact with residents concerned about Carolina Water’s proposed increases and emphasized the need to balance infrastructure needs with affordability.
In an email to the Observer, North Carolina Utilities Commission interim general counsel Josh Sundt said the agency can’t discuss pending rate case proceedings because they are judicial in nature.
“After considering all the testimony and other evidence, the Commission is required to set rates that are fair to both the public utilities and the consumer,” Sundt wrote.
The commission has already held public witness hearings in Newland, Charlotte and Jacksonville and added hearings in Mooresville and New Bern earlier this month after receiving inquiries showing significant public interest.
A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Justice said the department is monitoring the Carolina Water case and will decide closer to the Feb. 6 deadline whether to seek formal intervention.
Carver said he is asking regulators to apply the standard laid out in state law.
“The NC Utilities Commission is required by statute to, ‘Protect the public’s interest in receiving adequate service at reasonable rates,’” he said. “No one disputes that Carolina Water Service provides an adequate service. The part in dispute is at what rate.”
Carolina water says increases are needed
Carolina Water Service said the proposed rate increases are necessary to support operations and pay for major infrastructure upgrades.
In an email to the Observer, spokesperson Jessica Dey said the rate changes would help fund more than $120 million in capital investments, including replacing aging water and sewer pipelines, upgrading treatment plants, wells, storage tanks, pumping stations, fire hydrants and meters, It will also help meet stricter environmental and public health regulations.
The company said it offers payment arrangements, budget billing and water efficiency programs to help customers manage costs.
“Because CWSNC proactively and prudently plans for essential infrastructure investments, customers can trust that when they turn on the tap, they receive safe, reliable drinking water – and when they flush the toilet, wastewater is treated to protect public health and the environment,” Dey wrote.
