Cadiz residents outraged over recurring water discoloration and inflated bills

CADIZ, Ohio — It was said to be solved — the dirty, foul-smelling, and rust colored water many residents throughout Cadiz were getting through their pipes.

Now, residents are expressing concern once again about that discolored water as well as discrepancies with their bills.

Jessica Woodward said her and others have been dealing with for more than four months.

“Starting in June, once they released the boil order, I’ve had approximately three weeks of clean water in the entire time since that boil order.”

Now, there’s another problem — high water bills.

Woodward said, since a new meter was installed, her bills are seeing an extra 1,000 gallons of water per month, with some of her highest days coming in the midst of the crisis.

“The days where our water wasn’t usable, that we could only literally flush the toilets, it’s saying that we used nearly 500 gallons of water,” Woodward said. “The water looked like I took a bucket and dipped it straight out of the lake, and I can guarantee you, we did not use 500 gallons worth.”

According to her meter app, there are no leaks, meaning the extra 1,000 gallons per month are not being accounted for.

In a document that explains the plans for the Cadiz water improvement system project, the average water bill comes to around $91 a month.

In the bill’s Woodward showed NEWS9, fees alone almost reached $91 before factoring in water use. Woodward expresses a sentiment many in the village feel — anger and frustration.

“It’s very disappointing and it’s very frustrating,” she said. “Everybody saying that it’s OK if your water was rust-colored like mine was. Nobody can tell me that they would physically cook for their children or brush their teeth with it. You can tell me what the numbers say, but none of my kids want to brush their teeth or bathe in brown or green water.”

The last correspondence from the village was a notice that a rise in turbidity levels caused the recent discoloration. However, since the required boil level for turbidity was not reached, there is no boil order in place, according to the letter.

With every drop of discolored water and every extra thousand gallons of water on a bill, Woodward says her concern, and questions, grow.

“Where do we go next?” Woodward wondered. “Nobody’s giving us updates, they’re just telling us that it’s fine, they’re tired of hearing the complaining. If you had to live like we have to live right now, and pay the money that we have to pay, I’m pretty sure that a lot of people would be doing what we are, too.”

NEWS9 reached out to Mayor R. Kevin Jones for comment. He has not replied.

Cadiz residents outraged over recurring water discoloration and inflated bills

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