May 01, 2021

Why do Greenville Water Bills Show Charges from Multiple Entities?

The Greenville New, Ask LaFleur, received a question from a reader about their Greenville Water bill. Read on for more on the question and answer.

Question: Why are some in our neighborhood paying three companies on Greenville water bills?

Answer: While it might look confusing to some, Emerald Clark, public relations manager for Greenville Water, said customers see multiple entities on one bill due to an effort called consolidated billing.

Clark said Greenville Water believes the effort cuts costs for both customers and companies involved. I’ll explain a bit more about that in a moment.

The reader who asked this question provided a copy of her bill showing charges from both MetroConnects and ReWa in addition to Greenville Water. Clark provided a list of entities Greenville Water partners with for consolidated billing efforts. Both of those entities were on the list.

Clark explained that Greenville Water bills represent services for treatment and distribution of drinking water (Greenville Water), as well as collection and treatment of wastewater handled by other service providers such as (MetroConnects and ReWa).

Other wastewater partners include Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, Travelers Rest, and Berea.

Clark said there are several reasons Greenville Water partners with other service providers, one being it allows the service providers to share resources like metering equipment, technology and billing software, which Clark said cuts costs for the providers as well as customers.

Clark also said consolidating bills is more convenient for customers and ensures accurate and efficient billing.

“Greenville Water strongly believes that our billing partnerships and the issuance of one bill for both water and sewer charges plays an important role in maintaining affordable rates for our customers,” Clark said. “While some of our billing partners have regular rate increases, Greenville Water has not raised rates since 2016.”