Who Pays the Highest Water Bills in Tennessee?
by John Egan
November 01, 2016
The White House Utility District serves a 660-square-mile area in a largely rural area north of Nashville, TN. Water flows to customers through a little more than 1,250 miles of pipes. For every mile of pipe, the White House Utility District supplies water to about 25 connections.
“Because of the rural makeup of our customer base, we have relatively few connections per mile of pipe compared to almost any other water system in Tennessee,” says Bill Thompson, general manager of the White House Utility District.
Thompson says the low number of connections per mile of water pipe drives up costs for customers of the White House Utility District. The more connections per mile there are for a water system, the lower the costs are for customers, he says.
The White House Utility District serves a mostly rural area north of Nashville, TN.
At $512.64, the White House Utility District had the biggest residential water bills last year among the 11 largest community water systems in Tennessee, according to a LawnStarter review of data from Food & Water Watch, a consumer rights group. None of the 10 other water systems had annual bills above $500. Communities in the district’s service include Cross Plains, Gallatin, Goodlettsville, Greenbrier, Hendersonville, Millersville, Orlinda, Portland, Ridgetop and Springfield.
On the opposite end of the scale, residential customers of Memphis Light, Gas and Water enjoyed the lowest annual water bills last year -- at $120.71 apiece -- among the 11 largest community water systems in Tennessee.
Food & Water Watch based its bill calculations on the use of 60,000 gallons of water in a year’s time.
Bill Thompson is general manager of the White House Utility District.
Across the 11 community water systems surveyed in Tennessee, the average annual water bill was $304.82 in 2015. Among the 500 biggest community water systems surveyed around the U.S., the average water bill was $337.60.
Here’s the annual water bill in 2015 for a residential customer using 60,000 gallons of water in Tennessee’s 11 largest community water systems.
- White House Utility District: $512.64
- Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County: $493.02
- Jackson Energy Authority: $401.35
- Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department: $318.41
- Tennessee American Water Co. (Chattanooga): $316.57
- Knoxville Utilities Board: $310.95
- Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department: $261.72
- Clarksville Gas and Water Department: $248.40
- Kingsport Water Services Division: $200.76
- Metro Water Services (Nashville): $168.53
- Memphis Light, Gas and Water: $120.71
Top Photo: White House Utility District
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