FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE INDIANA UTILITY REGULATORY Commission

Feb 2
5 min read

🚨ANDERSON: 🚨

PAYING MORE. GETTING LESS. NOW BEING TOLD TO CONSERVE.

✔Water rates went up.

✔Water pressure went down.

✔Brown water keeps showing up.

✔Sewage and drainage issues haven’t stopped.

📍Now we’re being asked to cut water use by 25% so the system can catch up.

That’s not bad luck — that’s failed planning and poor management.

🔥If you’re tired of footing the bill for problems that never get fixed, file a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). This is the state agency that reviews whether rate hikes, infrastructure decisions, and service failures are actually justified.🔥

📣Anderson Residents — Take Action on Water Issues! 💧

🔥If you’re paying higher water rates but getting brown water, low pressure, sewage issues, power outages, and now emergency water-use restrictions, it’s time to stop venting and start documenting.

📝You have the right to file a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) — the state agency that reviews whether utility rate hikes and management decisions are actually justified.

👉 This isn’t about one snowstorm.

👉 This is about years of neglect and rate increases that aren’t

fixing current problems.

👉 If they can raise rates, they can answer for results.

📢One complaint is a voice.

📢 Hundreds become a record.

📢 A record forces accountability.

💧 They raised the rates.

We still have brown water and are unsure of water quality.

Now they want us to cut usage by 25%. 💧

That’s not “weather.”

That’s poor planning and failed management — and it’s time it’s reported.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission exists for moments exactly like this. If you’re tired of paying more while getting less, FILE A COMPLAINT.

Share this. File it. Let regulators hear from ALL of us.💧⚡

💥 This only changes if it’s documented.💥

Complaints = records.

Records = investigations.

Investigations = accountability.

📝 How to File a Complaint with the IURC: (it matters):

🔗Online: https://iurc.portal.in.gov/ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (File a Complaint)

— click “Submit a Complaint” (you’ll need to create an Access Indiana account first)

📞Or call: 1-800-851-4268 (Consumer Affairs Division)

📍Or mail/email:

Daniel M. Le Vay

Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor

PNC Center

115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 South

Indianapolis, IN 46204

dlevay@oucc.IN.gov

infomgt@oucc.in.gov

📌Before filing, try contacting the utility first and document your attempts. Unless you're like me and go straight to F.O. time.

Let’s make our voices heard together — share this and file your complaint today!

#AndersonWater #IURCComplaint #RatepayerRights

✊ Anderson Water Complaints –✊

Let’s Hold the Utility Accountable!

Many residents are dealing with:

💧Low/uneven water pressure

💧Brown/discolored water

💧 Emergency conservation notices

💧 Rising water, sewer & electric rates

__________________________________________________________

Here is a google drive link to what I sent 02/03/2026:

https://docs.google.com/.../1SyyPrabARcj9R811xwsF.../edit...

Here is what I sent...

🔥FORMAL COMPLAINT TO🔥

🚨THE INDIANA UTILITY REGULATORY Commission🚨

💥Utility: City of Anderson Water Department

Service Type: Water Utility

💥 Nature of Complaint: Rates, Service Reliability, Infrastructure Management, Capacity Allocation

Summary

This complaint is filed in direct response to the City of Anderson Water Department’s recent Urgent Public Notice requesting residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce water usage by 25% for approximately 5–7 days in order to restore tank levels, maintain adequate water pressure, and ensure sufficient supply for emergency fire protection.

At the root of this complaint is the fact that recent water rate increases imposed on Anderson residents are not being used to correct current and ongoing service deficiencies.

Despite higher rates, customers continue to experience low water pressure, recurring brown or discolored water, sewage and drainage issues, service interruptions, and emergency conservation requests following predictable seasonal demand.

According to the City’s notice, capacity limitations are attributed to aging infrastructure, ongoing remediation efforts, extreme winter weather, and drought-like conditions.

However, environmental remediation overseen by federal agencies, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to take a significant amount of time and will not provide near-term relief for existing operational failures.

As a result, residents are paying increased rates without receiving corresponding improvements in service quality, reliability, or system resilience.

The request for residential conservation occurs while large industrial users, including Nestlé, reportedly continue to consume in excess of one million gallons of water per day for commercial production.

This disparity raises serious concerns regarding system capacity allocation, rate equity, and whether residential ratepayers are disproportionately bearing the burden of system limitations while experiencing degraded water quality and pressure.

Rather than prioritizing corrective action to stabilize existing infrastructure, including the Wheeler Avenue Water Treatment Plant, the city has chosen to pursue construction of a new South Side water treatment facility.

This decision does not address the immediate water pressure, reliability, and quality issues residents are experiencing today and delays meaningful relief while shifting financial burden onto customers through repeated rate increases.

Additional rate increases for electric and sewage services are forthcoming, despite increasing power outages, sewage and drainage failures, and ongoing water service disruptions.

Finally, the presence of clear water alone does not ensure safety or compliance. PFAS/PFOS and other contaminants (Wheeler WTP) (NPL Superfund Site), including hexavalent chromium—widely known to the public through cases such as Erin Brockovich—have been identified in portions of Madison County.

These conditions further underscore the need for immediate corrective action to address current system performance and water quality concerns, rather than continued reliance on future projects or long-term remediation timelines.

There is no current Water Quality Report for 2025 from the City of Anderson as of today’s date 02/03/2026. The Annual Water Quality Report available at https://www.cityofanderson.com/572/Water-Quality-Reports

📝Key Issues for IURC Review📝

1.) Rate Increases Without Measurable Improvement

Residents are paying higher rates while experiencing reduced reliability, water quality issues, and emergency conservation requests.

2.) Lack of Operational Readiness and Capacity Planning

Predictable winter demand resulted in a system-wide capacity shortfall requiring public conservation measures.

3.) Deferred Maintenance of Existing Infrastructure

Known issues at existing treatment facilities remain unresolved while funds are directed toward new construction.

4.) Inequitable Capacity Allocation

Residential customers are being asked to reduce usage while high-volume industrial consumption continues.

5.) Service Quality Degradation

Brown water, sewage-related issues, pressure loss, and reliability concerns persist without a clear corrective timeline.

📝Relief Requested:📝

I respectfully request that the

Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission:

1.)Review whether recent water rate increases are just, reasonable, and producing tangible benefits for current customers.

2.) Examine whether capital expenditures are being prioritized appropriately to address existing system deficiencies rather than future facilities.

3.) Assess whether residential ratepayers are unfairly subsidizing industrial water usage during periods of system stress.

4.) Require the City of Anderson Water Department to provide a corrective action plan addressing current water pressure, water quality, and reliability issues.

5.) Determine whether current management and operational practices meet regulatory standards for service adequacy and ratepayer protection.

Attachments

Urgent Public Notice – Water Usage Reduction