CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Residents have been complaining for years about brown water issues in Charlestown, and it'll still be years before it's all fixed.
But an ownership change now has the green light. Indiana American Water won an appeal this week to buy Charlestown Water for $13.4 million. The Indiana Court of Appeals denied local opposition group No Outsourcing Water's (NOW) request to block the sale.
Mayor Bob Hall said the city's is thrilled with the sale, but not everyone is happy. Charlestown residents are still feeling the effects of brown water as high levels of manganese in the city's aging pipes have caused discolored water. Sharon Carter, a Charlestown resident, said the sale isn't a good thing, because it will cause rates to go up.
And she's right.
"There have been estimates done during the negotiation of purchase agreement over a year ago ... It's about double," said Bill Reedy with Indiana American Water. "The amount reflects our statewide rate, more or less, a single price across the state of Indiana."
The attorney for NOW, J. David Agnew, said they're disappointed with the appellate court's decision.
"However, we remain optimistic and are considering our options for moving forward," Agnew said.
Hall said "most people in town" already get clear water, but he reiterated that, despite the change in ownership, a permanent fix to the brown water isn't around the corner.
"It's not an overnight fix," he said. "If it had been easy overnight, we'd already have done it. This will take several years, but I hope in the next four to five years, the issue will be resolved."
Hall said the city and IAW are working together to get documents ready for the sale in the next 45 days. IAW is still working on its plan on how to fix the water issues but said residents should see some improvements within the first year.
Indiana American Water is part of a larger utility called American Water. It provides services to 14 million people in 45 states.
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