LEXINGTON, S.C. — Residents in Lexington County said they're still having issues with a fiber optic cable company that performed work in their area.
Patchy dead grass, a broken irrigation system, and leaning light poles remain in the Millstream Crossing neighborhood after Ripple Fiber's fiber optic cable installation. It's one of multiple neighborhoods where neighbors have reported ongoing work over the last three months.
"Basically, put together a letter to let them know that we as a community, it's not just individual homeowners, but also property that we all pay for, that's owned by the HOA," Millstream Crossing Homeowners Association President Jessica Kennedy said. "There's this damage that's been done, and we hear a lot of talk, but we're not seeing any resolution to it."
Kennedy said the company hasn't followed up on their work.
"We don't want to demean anyone," she said. "We just want things to be addressed so we can settle down this summer before we start school."
Other neighbors, like Jami Carter, said crews aren't supervised, and there's no accountability for several missteps. She said that Ripple Fiber dug three big holes in her yard.
"Probably about dinner time is when there seemed to be a problem," Carter said. "I noticed it through my Ring camera. Water was running down the road, and I saw workers walking up to my house, actually on my house line, using my spigots, undoing my hose and continual walking back and forth to my home line and back."
Carter said that's when she and her husband told the crew to stop working and called the Town of Lexington to ensure crews didn't hit a line.
"They determined that the repair was not something that would hold a residential line and said they would be back first thing in the morning," Carter said.
Chris Neely from the Whiteford neighborhood four miles down the road said he's dealt with the same.
"They hit the Spectrum internet cable, knocked out internet to some houses," Neely said. "They did that three times. In total, they hit the water main in a couple different streets and then they hit a gas line in our neighborhood'Tired of talk, we want to see action' | Lexington County neighbors still want fixes after fiber optic company missteps in several neighborhoods "
We contacted this company for an interview. They didn't directly address the residents' concerns but sent us this statement:
"Ripple Fiber is committed to maintaining a positive relationship with residents throughout the Lexington area. We encourage anyone with questions or concerns to reach out to our team at (839) 205-1804."
Lexington County Council Chairwoman Beth Carrigg sent us this statement:
"While Lexington County is certainly excited about much needed, expansive fiber optics; the number of complaints we receive of destruction in residential neighborhoods is wholly unacceptable & needs to be immediately addressed before moving forward with any additional work."
"People were excited about the service," Carter said. "They were looking forward to having a high-speed option; however, it was so problematic and created so much stress that it makes you leary of having that service."
A community meeting is planned for the Millstream Crossing neighborhood on Thursday, Aug. 1, from 6 to 7 p.m. at 132 Underwood Drive in Lexington.