CHULUOTA - Aqua Utilities southern regional president Chris Franklin sat stoically in front of the Public Service Commission last Thursday as he listened to city, county and state officials, and several Chuluota residents justify their disapproval of Aqua's proposed water rate increase.

During the hearing, the PSC was looking for three things: Aqua Utilities' interaction with customers, its quality of service, and any thoughts on the proposed increase, said PSC Chairman Matthew M. Carter.

One of the first people to speak on behalf of Chuluota residents was State Representative Sandy Adams. After hearing numerous complaints regarding exorbitant water gallon usage and an unresponsive customer service team, Adams decided to step in.

She recalled one resident who was charged more than 400 times the amount of water she actually used and how it took three months for the issue to be resolved.

Robert Murray also attested to the inaccurate readings of Aqua Utilities.

"I'm a new customer to Aqua Utilities," Murray said. "I just received my bill two weeks ago and it was for more than $1,000. My wife contacted the utility and they said they would check into it and get back to her."

Unlike many other Aqua customers, Murray's wife was called back, yet they told her that after re-reading the meter they found it to be correct. The Murrays had used 224,000 gallons of water.

"So yesterday I went out and read the meter myself," Murray said. "I have experience in utilities, it's not a hard thing to do. What I observed was they had transposed an extra zero onto the reading from day one. But they told my wife that we had a water leak and needed to call a plumber. We asked to have a supervisor return our call and that was about six days ago."

Murray never heard from a supervisor.

Seminole County Commissioner Bob Dallari also addressed the PSC to let them know that neither the quality of water, nor Aqua's customer service has improved.

"I've called them myself several times and I stopped calling because I don't even get return phone calls," Dallari said. "If I can't get return phone calls, how are the citizens going to get return phone calls?"

The second strike against Aqua Utilities is the poor water quality. Not only are Chuluota residents paying several hundred dollars or more each month for water, but they're paying for black water, which is water containing animal, human or food waste.

Marlene Hass, another Chuluota resident, brought in a water sample from her home's tap to show the PSC what is supposed to be her life's sustenance.

"You turn the faucet on and the first thing that comes out is what it would look like if you took a salt and pepper shaker, or Mrs. Dash, and poured it all over the basin of the sink," Hass said. "All this crap comes out of here constantly."

And with the cheers of approval from fellow residents behind her, Hass listed a few of the added costs and sacrifices she has to take due to having substandard water: bottled water for everything from teeth-brushing to meal preparations, laundry additives that keep the water's foul odor from sticking to the clothes, purchasing more than her fair share of faucet replacements due to corroding and disintegration, and even tossing out light colored clothes that have become so dingy from washing with dirty water.

Franklin attempted to justify Aqua's request for a rate increase by pointing out that the company has been losing money since they acquired the utility in 2003, and in order to get a good return of investment, rates need to increase. He ensured the PSC that although Chuluota's water quality is an ongoing and difficult problem, they haven't stopped trying to solve the problem.

He also said that a new metering system was being put in place, and would take some time to work out the kinks.

Commenting on Franklin's justification for wanting a rate increase, Dallari said, "Well, it's just like everyone of us that invests in our 401K. Sometimes you don't always get that great of a return, especially in today's market. They knew what they were buying when they bought it because they had the experts to research it."

Offers have been extended by the city of Oviedo to purchase the utility. Oviedo Mayor Mary Lou Andrews stood up to extend another offer to try negotiations again for the city to buy the utility.

Andrews acknowledged that previous negotiations "never proved to be fruitful whatsoever, and if Aqua Utilities wanted to negotiate successfully with the city, there may be something we can provide."

At the end of the day, Chuluota residents and the public officials had given the PSC plenty to think about before they decide whether Aqua Utilities will get its rate increase or not. But the final decision is still a ways off. A technical hearing is set for Dec. 8 through 11 and the final decision is set to be made Feb. 11, 2009.