AHOSKIE – Change is on its way.

Beginning late next month, residents living in the newly annexed areas of Ahoskie will notice a switch in the billing of their water service.

Ahoskie Town Manager Tony Hammond said the Hertford County Southern Rural Water District would close out the billing to those customers this month.

“Once that occurs, they will turn those (meter) readings over to us and we will begin reading those meters and billing from the end of that cycle,” Hammond said.

He confirmed that the first water bill should arrive in late September to those new customers. The due date is Oct. 15.

Hammond added that the town will change the water meters as well.

“The county reads those meters in a certain way and we do it differently, therefore we have to install our water meters,” he noted. “All of the meters should be changed out by the end of September.”

The next phase of the town’s work to supply infrastructure to the newly annexed areas will be the installation of sewer lines. Hammond said that work is scheduled to begin by mid-November.

“We’re moving right along with the new wastewater treatment plant,” Hammond advised. “We’re looking to have it up and running by late January or early February.”

At their June 21 meeting, the Hertford County Board of Commissioners approved the sale of 137 water service locations linked to the Southern Rural Water District to the Town of Ahoskie as part of the town’s new annexation. Those areas included residences and businesses along sections of NC 561 East (Harrellsville Highway), NC 42 West, the Ahoskie-Cofield Road (including Willoughby Road, Waldorf Lane, VIP Road and Lincoln Road) and NC 561 West (Colonial Acres and Oriole Drive areas).

That sale also affected eight customers who are not in an area annexed, but were served by the rural water district. Due to the locations of those properties, there were no options, except having the property owner digging a private well, to provide water other than through the town of Ahoskie.

At their meeting earlier this month, the Ahoskie Town Council voted to bill those eight customers at the in-town rate. Without that approval, those eight households would be forced to pay the out-of-town rate, which is double the in-town rate.