MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — One Milledgeville man says what started as a favor to a neighbor left him with no water for 30 days.
He says a contractor working with Georgia Power accidentally cut his water line in July, and they have yet to come back to fix it. It left him high and dry.
Califf Ingram's neighbor needed power for his property.
"I gave him permission to hook on my line," Ingram explained.
In July, a Georgia Power contractor started digging to connect the line underground.
"I came back to the house, and all the water was around there," he said.
They'd snapped the water line.
"All of that was torn up," Ingram explained. "They were fixing to cover it up, and I stopped them. I was like, 'Don't cover it up until you fix this.'"
Ingram says the contractor told him he'd be back to fix the damage; however, one week turned into four.
"I was trying to be a good neighbor. and the guy who did it, they don't care about you," he said.
Two teen grandsons, four cats and two dogs survived from healthy water. He says he's been using his gas money to get water twice weekly.
"See all the water we got? Yeah, 10 gallons," he said. "We are all suffering."
Ingram says he's called the contractor eight times.
"I said, how would you feel if you ain't got no water," he explained.
Ingram says he was told they'd be back out to fix the leak, but it kept getting pushed back. He says he felt hopeless.
"I can't understand that. I'm a voter, got a good record, and I can't get no compensation. I hope in the future they don't do nobody else like this. Regardless if he's poor or rich or what you are, do the right thing so that we don't have to go through this procedure," Ingram said.
After we got involved and started making calls, Baldwin County fixed the problem on behalf of Georgia Power, and Ingram's house had water once again.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, Georgia Power says you should get the name and contact number of the contractor responsible.
Or you can call their customer service line at 1-888-660-5890, which runs Monday-Friday from 7 A.M- 7 P.M.
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