YORK, Ala. (WTOK) – Residents of the city of York, Alabama, are complaining about ongoing water issues. Whether that be an expensive water bill or the water to be murky.
The City of York was founded in 1838 and is the home to over 2,300 people. Living in a small rural city like York comes with many issues, but one issue stands out over the rest.
“But we got a problem with the water being white, and we buy water when we buy water that’s taking out our pocket, and then we can’t pay the water bill because they got it up too high, and the water bill is outrageous. And every time you turn the on the water, you cannot wash your clothes. You got to check your clothes every time you wash them and make sure ain’t no stains, and they changing colors on you. It’s just a problem with the city. The city got the money to fix the problem, but they doing other things with it,” said resident Danny Bell.
The Mayor of York said they have applied for funding through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, but they have not received any funds. The mayor went on to say the city has not seen any increase in its taxes in over 15 years. He says without funding, issues with the crumbling infrastructure will continue to happen.
In 2023, the city began installing brand new water meters to ensure accurate billing of water. With the new meters human error has been eliminated.
“So if people have a high water bill as part because they have a leak, or they’re using more water than they typically use. So, the water meters are accurate. We have had some water breaks and when you do have water break, sometimes the water is unclear, but that will clear up. Unfortunately, we have old infrastructure, they break. And we repair. In a timely manner, most time we can repair the breaks within 24 hours, and that does cause some air bubbles to get in the water,” said Mayor Willie Lake.
A local business owner applauds the city in getting the leaks repaired as quickly as they do.
He agrees with the mayor, saying with the age of the pipes, there are going to be breaks. But Wyndall Larkin says the main issue with the city is not the water, but communication. Once that is figured out, all of the other issues can be solved.
“I’m only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So I found out Friday morning by calling around that the water was off I could not open. The only way I could find out the waters back on I decided to go down there about 2:00, and I had a trickle. And that’s why I realized I could open. No one contacted me when it was going to be off or when it was going to be back on,” said Owner of Larkin’s Restaurant and Deli, Wendell Larkin.
News 11 spoke with other members of the community who did not want to be interviewed who say there are issues with the water, and they are unwilling to drink it due to the color and the lack of clarity.
The city is inviting residents to a community meeting on February the 14 at noon at the Popstart Community Center in Downtown York.
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