Eleven residents brought legal action against Wanship Water Company, formerly Wanship Cottages Water Company, this spring.
But they didn’t meet the legal requirements to sue.
They needed 25 residents or a majority of the Summit County Council to sign the complaint. The water company serves fewer than 40 customers beneath Wanship Dam.
The Wanship Cottages residents didn’t ask the council for signatures, and with only 11 neighbors signed on, the Utah Public Service Commission dismissed the suit.
They filed April 15 after their water company’s new owner, Windermere Real Estate-Utah broker Grady Kohler, raised rates 700% from $19 to about $150 per month.
It was the first rate hike in almost four decades. He says it’s necessary to make up for years of disrepair, and state regulators agree.
Administrative law judge Michael Hammer’s order states that, even if the public service commission could entertain the residents’ complaint, it’s unlikely Kohler violated any law. He dismissed the suit July 29.
That disappointed Paige Guion, one of the residents who spearheaded the complaint. She characterizes the increased rates as “sanctioned elder abuse,” referring to her neighbors on fixed incomes.
“Like, what a great business model? Wouldn't it be nice if every business can just have a necessity—something that people need—and charge whatever they want?” she said. “Seems wrong.”
Guion and her husband are considering trucking in their own water, which they say is cheaper.
Kohler said his goal of providing reliable and safe drinking water remains unchanged.
“Our plan is to get back on track to looking for some grants and keep working toward improving the system,” he told KPCW in a statement.
He said there’s $1,175.41 in the company’s bank account right now, and the water company will be lucky to break even this year, even with the increase.
He maintains he’s open to turning the water company into a nonprofit or a collectively owned and operated organization if that’s something Wanship Cottages residents want to pursue.
The 11 neighbors have 30 days to ask for the commission to rereview their complaint. It’s unclear whether they could resubmit their complaint with 25 signatures instead.
