SWANSEA, S.C. — Swansea town council met Monday night to continue to address water meter and water payment issues.
At the two hour meeting, residents learned that issues still remain with the town's water system, but town administrator Christine Keefer said progress is being made.
"The increase in the sanitation fee seems to be covering the expenses. That's a good thing. It looks like sewage is getting close to covering itself. The water seems to be about 77 to 80%," Keefer said.
She said the deficit still exists because of people still not paying their bills, because of issues with water meter readings, which can cause delays in getting bills out and extends the billing cycle, plus storm water from Hurricane Helene that's put a bigger burden on the sewage system.
But in a long address from the mayor Monday night, she said she's taken action.
"We were terminating water today, cutting off water today," Viola McDaniel said.
The town administrator said this, in turn, has prompted people to call and start paying. McDaniel said the financial situation is dire.
"We probably won't even make payroll this week, and it's not my fault," McDaniel said.
Residents like Cheyenne Shumpert said it's important for residents to keep tabs on how the town's finances are.
"I think that a lot of the residents in Swansea need to be aware of what's going on, and the issues that the town is having financially, and at the end of the day, what the outcome will be and how that is going to affect the town residents and the town business owners," Shumpert said.
In planning to open up a family restaurant business in the new year, Shumpert said this directly impacts her and her family, with water leak and meter issues she's currently dealing with.
"It's been a huge learning curve for everybody. We don't have a professional utility manager here, but you do have a handful of people who want to make sure that people get their questions answered, that people get a correct water bill, and that this system provides good, clean, reliable water," Keefer said.
Joint Municipal Water said the first draft of their Comprehensive Water Viability Study for the town of Swansea is due in about a month, so they expect fruitful conversations about solutions in the new year.