Benton County Residents Upset Over Steep Sewage Prices

BENTON COUNTY, Mo. -- Customers in a former sewer district are up-in-arms after they say their voting rights were violated and now they are being charged for services they do not want or need.

People living outside of the city of Warsaw in Benton County say they are being charged $80 per month to flush their toilets after years of mismanagement by the Benton County Sewer District #1.

After federal courts, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Attorney General intervened, people say they are not given a choice when it comes to getting rid of their sewage.

Now, they hope to flush the past 20 years away and go back to what they can afford.

Inside the Benton County courthouse, residents of the Blue and White Branch communities near Lake of the Ozarks say their voices are not being heard.

Hubert, a retired Vietnam veteran, and his wife, Joyce, moved to the area full time ten years ago. For as long as they've lived there, there's been problems with Benton County Sewer District #1.

"With everything that has gone in with the district, with the management, the rate hikes, we can't afford them, the people can't afford them," says Harris.

Residents say the sewer district came about in the 90s after water officials said that septic tanks failing in the area were polluting the lake.

After years of service, voters elected to dissolve the district in 2013. Following the vote, the Attorney General ruled shutting down shop would not be that easy because someone has to pay the USDA back for loaning the district $1.6 million to clean up the lake.

"The board got a loan in 1996 without the voter approval of the people. The people never voted to in debt the district," says George Hall, a former customer and resident trying to intervene into the court case.

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Benton County Residents Upset Over Steep Sewage Prices