Lexington, West Columbia water feud has ended. Here’s what a court said
The city of West Columbia and the town of Lexington have argued over which would provide water services to an in-between area for nearly a decade. A decision by the S.C. Court of Appeals ended the feud.
Lexington claimed it had the right to provide wastewater services to an area that West Columbia had recently annexed, while West Columbia sought to expand its sewer system in the same place. Lexington asked for declaratory judgment in the case, but a circuit court dismissed the lawsuit.
The Court of Appeals upheld that decision in a Wednesday court filing.
“Even if Lexington was serving or could readily serve the disputed area, once the area was annexed by West Columbia, Lexington had no right to institute new service or to expand service in the area without West Columbia’s consent,” the decision read.
The court rejected the argument that the regional wastewater management plan constituted prior consent from West Columbia. Even if it did, the annexation would make it void.
When did the feud begin?
Litigation over which municipality would service a handful of water customers began in 2018 and was reopened in 2023.
Since the case was reopened, The State reported that it has cost taxpayers more than $1.3 million in attorney’s fees. West Columbia spent more than $1 million in attorney fees. Lexington spent nearly $400,000.
West Columbia initially filed a lawsuit against Lexington in March 2018, arguing that Lexington was breaching an existing contract that regulated which municipality was allowed to serve water customers in certain areas. Lexington was serving water customers that were meant to be West Columbia’s, according to the initial lawsuit.
Both municipalities had said in court filing that each stand to lose out on revenue and potential water customers, as development in Lexington County continues to spread.
It stemmed from earlier disagreements over water customers in the 1990s, according to a May 2025 legal filing.
West Columbia and Lexington came to an agreement outlined in a 1997 contract, which was re-upped in 2007. But each party has a different understanding of it. West Columbia believed some of the same water service areas outlined in the 1997 contract carried over, whereas Lexington believed new customers that came after that 1997 contract were theirs.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 11:57 AM.
