PICKENS — Residents of an apartment complex in Pickens gathered outside Monday morning, wondering if they would lose their water, and possibly their homes.

About 38 families at Winwood Gardens faced those possibilities when complex owner, Kevin J. Flessner of Sussex Management, LLC, got behind on the water and sewer bill.

“We all gathered water this morning thinking it would be cut off at 9 a.m.,” said resident Barbara Sanders.

“Most of us are disabled and have nowhere else to go,” she said.

City officials had made numerous efforts to contact the owner prior to the cutoff time, according to Katherine Brackett, assistant administrator.

But out of concern for the residents, the city, which provides the water and sewer services, did not cut off the utilities Monday morning, giving the owner 30 days to resolve the matter.

By mid-day Monday, Brackett said the owner contacted the city and worked out an agreement to pay the outstanding bills.

“The owner has been cooperative, and as long as we stick to the payment plan, I do not anticipate any more issues,” she said.

Brackett said the city also contacted a private garbage collector to pick up trash that was overflowing in the dumpsters outside the apartments.

“We have also notified DHEC,” she said.

Prior to the owner contacting the city, residents said they feared that if the water was turned off, they would be put out on the streets with no place to go.

“It would be a shame to pay the rent, and then have to move,” said Leslie Freeman, who has lived at Winwood Gardens for about a year.

However, if the water had been cut off, it would have been a three-way legal issue – between the owner and the tenants, and between the owner and the city, according to Thom Berry, a spokesman for the S.C. Health and Environmental Control.

Residents also complained about various maintenance issues in some of the units.

“None of this is the manager’s fault,” Freeman said. “She’s tried to reach the owner numerous times.”

Freeman also said the manager’s mother Shirley Holder cuts the grass, and tries to fix things in the apartments.

Donna Coker, who manages the complex and lives there, said the owner is struggling right now to pay its bills because of the economy.

“The land phone line has been shut off for nearly a year now,” she said. “The water bill was really far behind, and that put me in a panic.”

But she said city officials were very helpful in working with them to resolve the problem.

“The owner needs to step up to the plate and take care of his tenants,” she said. “They pay their rent faithfully.”

But she said some of the maintenance issues over air conditioning and ceilings were “over-dramatized” by some of the tenants.

According to Coker, Winwood Gardens has 60 units, and 38 are rented.