Danielle Rivenbark’s water bill used to hover around $200 a month. Now, she says, it has climbed as high as $400.
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Rivenbark has been a Carolina Water Service customer in Belvedere Plantation north of Wilmington for about 15 years. She has four children, no irrigation system and says her family already tries to conserve water by limiting showers and using the dishwasher efficiently.
Still, her water bill is now higher than her electric bill.
“When you’re paying like an extra $50, $60, $70 a month, that adds up over the course of a year,” Rivenbark said. “We’ve had to cut back on groceries and things like that.”
Months after North Carolina regulators approved new rates for Carolina Water Service, customers across the Charlotte area say they are now seeing what those increases look like in actual household budgets. Several customers interviewed by The Charlotte Observer described monthly bills that jumped, in some cases more than $100, even as they say they are trying to conserve water.
Carolina Water Service serves communities across North Carolina, including the Charlotte region, Lake Norman, the Triad and southeastern North Carolina.
Some are taking shorter showers, running appliances less frequently or cutting spending elsewhere to make room for the higher utility costs.
Carolina Water Service said individual bills can vary for reasons beyond the new rates, including water use, irrigation, household size, seasonal demand and leaks or plumbing problems.
“Customers have noticed a recent change in their rates following the North Carolina Utilities Commission’s approval of new rates for Carolina Water Service customers earlier this year,” the company said in a statement to the Observer. “The recently approved rates followed a lengthy public regulatory process and reflect the Commission’s effort to balance the interests of customers and the utility.”
The company encouraged customers concerned about their bills to contact its customer care team.
Carolina Water Service sought higher rates this year as part of a three-year plan to increase revenue and pay for system improvements. Despite customer opposition, state regulators approved a uniform water usage charge hike from $13.78 to $19.23 per 1,000 gallons, an increase of nearly 40%.
The approved rate was actually higher than the $18.46 per 1,000 gallons Carolina Water originally proposed for that portion of customers’ bills, even though the broader settlement reduced the company’s overall revenue request.
Carolina Water has said higher rates are necessary to maintain aging infrastructure and make improvements to its water and wastewater systems. The company now says it expects to invest more than $115 million in its North Carolina systems between April 2026 and March 2029. That spending will go toward infrastructure, regulatory compliance, reliability, water quality improvements and modernization, according to its statement.
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“As a regulated utility, Carolina Water Service cannot change rates without review and approval by the North Carolina Utilities Commission,” the company said.
For Rivenbark, the impact is showing up elsewhere in the family budget.
She said the higher bills forced the household to cut back on groceries and other expenses. She has even considered whether the cost of water is enough to make her want to leave the neighborhood, though moving is complicated by the low mortgage rate her family currently has.
“These are real families,” she said. “This is a working-class community.”
Lorena Stanberry has watched Carolina Water bills rise over a much longer period. A customer for more than 30 years, Stanberry remembers paying around $30 a month when she first moved into her home. In recent years, she said, bills rose to around $150. Her latest bill was over $200.
Stanberry said she prepaid roughly $150, assuming that would be enough to cover the bill. When she checked again and saw she still owed about another $75, she initially thought something was wrong. Her water bill, she said, is now approaching what she pays for natural gas and electricity combined.
Everett Buck saw a similar increase at his Bradfield Farms home in east Charlotte. His family grew accustomed to paying around $150 a month for water and sewer. His latest bill was $207.
Buck said his household’s water use changed little, but the family started trying to conserve more by waiting until the dishwasher is full and cutting down on laundry where possible. That can be difficult with a toddler and a six-week-old baby, he said.
“It’s just another nail in the coffin,” Buck said.
Giovanni Lumaro said his household in the Abington community in Forsyth County grew accustomed to combined water and sewer bills of around $160 to $170. His bill is now about $250, he said.
The household no longer uses its dishwasher, Lumaro said, and he removed the garbage disposal because using it requires running water to flush food through the system. He said the larger frustration is that customers cannot simply opt out of an expense they consider too high. Carolina Water Service is the provider serving his neighborhood, and water is a necessity.
“You can’t say, ‘You know what, I’ve got to save up for something else. I’m not going to use water,’” Lumaro said. “You’ve got to shower. You’ve got to brush your teeth. You’ve got to make food. You’ve got to take care of your kids.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “NC regulators OK’d water bill hike now forcing families to shrink budgets.”
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