DUKEVILLE — One month after letters declaring private well water unsafe to drink began flowing into mailboxes, many houses near Buck Steam Station still haven’t received a water allocation from Duke Energy.

As of Tuesday morning, at least 12 families hadn’t received a first delivery — seven cases of bottled water — promised by Duke Energy after tests results declared 32 water wells near coal ash ponds unsafe to drink. The company sent letters with contact information to sign up for water deliveries to affected families. So far, about 20 of the 32 families in Dukeville have received water, according to Duke Energy spokesperson Erin Culbert.

Culbert said the company is setting up deliveries as quickly as possible, but the dozen families left out are quickly becoming frustrated.

“Duke Power knows which houses and which wells are contaminated.,” said Deborah Graham, who lives on Dukeville Road. “They have the list from the state.”

Graham was among the first group to receive a letter from the state. Results for her house’s water well showed exceedances of health screening levels for vanadium and iron. Like other families in the area, Graham is represented by Salisbury law firm Wallace and Graham, which submitted names of its clients to Duke Energy for water allocations. Some of the law firm’s clients, including Graham, have received the promised seven cases of bottled water. Other Dukeville residents are still waiting.

The deliveries are scheduled to occur every two weeks and provide about one gallon of water per day.

After multiple neighbors around Graham received deliveries of water, her husband questioned a delivery driver about the Graham family’s allocation. The driver, contracted through a third-party company by Duke, said the Graham family wasn’t on the list to receive an allocation. Since then, Graham said she’s repeatedly called the designated number given by Duke, leaving multiple messages. Graham said she hasn’t gotten a response and hasn’t been able to speak with a person during any of the phone calls.

One mile away, Leonard Road resident Tyson Beaver said he has received an allocation of water. The rental properties owned by Beaver, however, have yet to receive any water.

“Duke advertises that they’re a good neighbor,” Beaver said. “Well, a good neighbor admits their mistakes and corrects them. And Duke doesn’t take any responsibility for contaminating all these wells.”

Results returned so far are just a portion of the 51 total tests conducted on private wells as part of the 2014 Coal Ash Management Act. All but two of the tests returned to date declare drinking water unsafe. One house on James Street received a letter saying further testing is needed. Reggie Gobble, who lives in a house that’s situated between multiple unsafe wells, received a letter that declared his well safe to drink. Gobble, however, lives several hundred yard away from a coal ash pond.

When questioned about the test results, Duke Energy has repeatedly said vanadium, one of the most common results on tests, is naturally occurring and not a result of plant operations. However, Culbert said Duke Energy would be willing to provide a permanent source of water such as a municipal water line, if the plant proves to be the reason for the most recent test results.

“It is unfortunate that residents are concerned when most wells meet federal standards for public drinking water, but we want them to have peace of mind while we complete our studies in a few months,” Culbert said in an emailed statement. “The wells near Buck have not shown elevated levels of boron and sulfates that serve as key indicators for potential coal ash impacts, so we’re encouraged by that.”

Beaver and other Dukeville residents, however, aren’t convinced by the company’s claims.

“You could understand one or two being a natural occurrence, but with all the people that are involved it’s hard to believe,” Beaver said.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.