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Water shut off abruptly at Abilene apartment complex, City says owners are more than $20,000 in arrears

"We had no idea when the water would come back on. We couldn’t contact anybody. No one could get hold of the property manager.”
Credit: Kami Simmons

ABILENE, Texas — People living at the Warwick Apartments in Abilene are in limbo after a string of problems. The most resent issue was the water being shut off by the City of Abilene without notice.

Some residents worried the entire complex could have their water shut off once again. The City told residents the complex was in arrears in payment for water utilities.

Linda Buckman has called the Warwick Apartments home for the last two years (at the end of May). She said after the water was shut off Monday night, it’s time to move on and move out.

“My lease is ending at the end of May in just a few weeks and I had already given my two months notice there was a possibility that I would be moving. If this other option doesn’t work out I’ll just stay here and do the best I can,” Buckman said.

Dinetria Singleton has lived at the complex for roughly eight months. She said living without running water isn't a choice for her. Especially since she is an essential worker.

“It’s very frustrating because there are a lot of essential workers that live here and we don’t know if we’re going to get off work and have the water on or off. I immediately started thinking how am I going to bathe, how am I going to flush my toilet, how am I going to wash my clothes. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic and so it’s important to be able to come home. You know, sanitize, wash your clothes and immediately come out of your scrubs. So this alarmed me,” Singleton said.

She said she would rather not pay to stay at a hotel at her own expense. She feels as if the property managers have not upheld to their end of the bargain.

“I am considering moving when my lease is up. There have just been some changes here that have occurred that makes me feel like it’s going to be an unstable situation moving forward...however management has been extremely kind,” Singleton said.

The entire complex was left without water for approximately two days.

"I really love living here. I just think that, I don’t understand why they didn’t pay their bill you know? And now there is not guarantee of how long the water will stay on so it could be off again tomorrow,” Buckman said.

A couple of months ago, tenants said they received a notice about bills not being paid and the apartment complex said it was going to turn the water off.

“That went on but apparently since that notice, they still haven’t paid and that’s why they turned the water off,” Buckman said. “They have a lot of work to do. They fired some very good people. We had great maintenance men who were super nice and they kept up with everything. They fired them. They fired the office help. This was four months ago.”

Singleton said she is not taking any chances if this issue continues and will be packing her bags and leaving.

“A friend and I want to rent a house together,” Buckman said.

The Abilene Police Department and Walmart South came Monday to provide water to the apartment residents. Residents are pleading to pay the water bills directly themselves.

“One lady called the water company and said can you just put the water under my name so that I can pay my own bill and they said no because it belongs to the complex,” Buckman said. “I hope they fix it for the sake of everybody living here.”

FOX West Texas called the apartment complex's owner and management for comment and did not get an answer.

This statement was posted on the complex's Facebook page Tuesday:

“Atlas Residential LLC and The Warwick Apartments staff apologize for any inconvenience that this situation has caused. We assure you that the property staff did their best remedy this situation, and all collected funds are accounted for. Atlas Residential continues to work with property staff , lenders, vendors, and service providers to ensure that services are restored and disruptions do not happen in the future. The economic challenges brought on by COVID 19 pandemic continue to put extreme stress and long term impacts on businesses including multifamily businesses and we are making every effort to overcome these challenges."

The City of Abilene said the complex still owes approximately $20,000 in water utility payments. There are no answers, as of now, as to what happens  if the water bills are not paid.

In an emailed statement, the City of Abilene said:

"The City of Abilene has received a number of calls from residents of the Warwick Apartment Complex regarding a water outage. The water outage is the result of a water shut off due to an extended period of delinquency by the apartment management. Residents should contact their property management company regarding this matter. "

Apartment residents said they will continue to pay their monthly bills, water included.

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