Chapter II: 201-208 Water Service to Consumers

Sec. 2-201 Application for Water Service

1. Any prospective consumer adjacent to a distributing main, where pressure conditions permit except as provided for in Sec. 2-217, Elevation Agreement may obtain water service; provided, that the Department has a sufficient water supply developed and available for domestic use and fire protection to take on new or additional service without detriment to those already served.

2. Each prospective consumer may be required to sign an application form for water service.

3. The consumer shall be responsible for payment of all charges for water service at the designated location.  Charges will begin when the water service is established, and will continue until due notification from the consumer, or until discontinued by the Department for failure of the consumer to comply with these Rules and Regulations.

4. When an application for water service is made by a consumer who was responsible for and failed to pay bills previously rendered by the Department, regardless of location and within the statutory period of limitations, the Department may refuse to furnish water service to such applicant until the outstanding bills are paid.

5. A consumer taking possession of a property and using water without having made application for the transfer of water service shall be held liable for the water delivered from the date of the last recorded meter reading.  If proper application for transfer is not made, and if accumulated bills for water service are not paid upon presentation, the water service may be discontinued five business days after written notice is given to the consumer.

6. The Department may require a deposit from any consumer or prospective consumer to guarantee payment of bills for service are other obligations to the Department.

a. The amount of the deposit may be the maximum estimated charge for service for two consecutive billing periods, or as may reasonably be required by the Department in cases involving service for short periods or special occasions, but shall be not less than $10.00.

b. No interest on these deposits shall be accrued, or paid, to the consumer.       

c. The deposit shall be retained as long as it is necessary to ensure payment of obligations to the Department.    

d. If the deposit has not been returned by the time the consumer discontinues service or pays all outstanding obligations, the deposit shall be returned less all unpaid or outstanding charges.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am BWS Res. No. 472, 1979; am BWS Res. No. 530, 1985; am BWS Res. No. 659, 1996]     

Sec. 2-202 Installation of Water Service

1. Installation.  Water service will be installed at the expense of the applicant.  The Department will determine the size and location of all water services and the number of houses, buildings or dwelling units to be served by a single service.

2. Installation Charge.  Installation charges shall be based on the cost of installation as established by the Department.  Said charges shall be available for inspection at the offices of the Department.

3. Water System Facilities Charge.  In addition to the installation cost, a water system facilities charge shall be levied against all new water service connections to the system or connections requiring additional water supplies from existing water services.  A schedule of such charges is included in the Department's Schedule of Rates and Charges for the Furnishing of Water and Water Service.  The charge shall be paid by the applicant prior to installation of water service.

Water system facilities charges will not be levied in developments where the developer has installed at his cost a complete water system including source and transmission and daily storage facilities.

4. Consumer's Supply Pipe.  The consumer shall install and connect at his expense his supply pipe to the shut-off valve or outlet installed by the Department.

5. Location of Water Service.  An applicant for water service to property fronting on private roads, lanes, etc., where there is no public water system, must extend his supply pipe to the nearest public street on which a water main exists.  All meters shall be installed in the public sidewalk areas wherever possible.

6. Alteration to Public Water System.  All work and materials in connection with the change in location or elevation of any part of the existing public water system, made necessary by the installation of the new service connection, shall be at the expense of the applicant.

 [Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am BWS Res. No. 472, 1979; am BWS Res. No. 528, 1985]

Sec. 2-203 Meter Reading and Rendering of Bills

1. All water supplied by the Department will be measured by means of suitable meters registering in gallons.

2. Meters will be read and bills rendered monthly or bimonthly as determined by the Department.  Special readings may be made, when necessary, for closing accounts or other reason.  If a meter cannot be read, an estimated bill will be rendered, said bill to be calculated whenever possible on prior consumption.

3. Closing bills for short periods of time from the last meter reading date will ordinarily be determined by the amount of water actually used, as indicated by the meter reading, plus a proration of the service charge.  In prorating service charge, the billing period for monthly bills shall be considered to be 30 days, and bimonthly bills to be 60 days.  After July 1, 1980, there shall be no proration of service charge.

4. Readings of Separate Meters Not Combined.  For the purpose of computing charges, all meters serving the consumer's premises shall be considered separately, and the readings thereof shall not be combined except in cases where the Department, because of operating necessity, installs two or more meters in parallel to service the same consumer's supply pipe.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am BWS Res. No. 472, 1979]

Sec. 2-204 Payment of Bills

1. All bills shall be due and payable upon presentation to the consumer.  Payment shall be made at the offices of the Department or, at the Department's option, to duly authorized collectors of the Department.

2. Any bill which is not paid within 30 days after the date of the bill shall be deemed delinquent.  Water service may be discontinued five business days after written notice is given to the consumer.

3. A service fee for handling a dishonored check may be made in accordance with fees established by the Department.

4. A late payment charge may be applied to any delinquent balance payable to the Department.  The late payment charge shall be assessed at the rate of one percent for each month or fraction thereof against the delinquent balance, beginning 30 days after the date of the bill.

5. For the purposes of this section, 'delinquent balance' includes any loan, fee, charge, or other liquidated sum which is 30 days past due to the Department, regardless of whether there is an outstanding judgment for that sum, and whether the sum has accrued through contract, subrogation, tort, operation of law, or administrative order.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am BWS Res. No. 659, 1996]

Sec. 2-205 Discontinuation of Water Service

1. Consumer About to Vacate Premises.  Each consumer about to vacate any premises supplied with water by the Department shall give notice of his intention to vacate, specifying the date service should be discontinued; otherwise, the consumer shall be responsible for all water service furnished to such premises until the Department has received a notice of discontinuance.  Before buildings are demolished, the Department should be notified so the water service can be closed.

2. Water service may be discontinued for any of the following reasons:

a. Nonpayment of Bills.  Water service may be discontinued for nonpayment of a bill five business days after written notice is given to the consumer.

b. Noncompliance with Rules and Regulations.  If the consumer fails to comply with any of these Rules and Regulations, the Department will have the right to discontinue service.

c. Unauthorized Use of Water.  The Department may refuse or discontinue water service to any premises or consumer in order to protect itself against fraud, abuse or unauthorized use of water.  For unauthorized use of water a surcharge may be assessed as established by the Department.

d. Wasteful Use of Water.  Where negligent or wasteful use of water exists on any premises, the Department may discontinue service if such conditions are not corrected within five business days after giving the consumer written notice of said conditions.

e. Service Detrimental to Others.  The Department, may refuse to furnish water, and may discontinue the service to any premises, where the demands of the consumer will result in inadequate service to others.

3. Where discontinuation of water service for any of the above reasons is proposed, the Department shall, prior to the proposed shut off, give to the water consumer at least five (5) business days notice.  This notice shall specify to the consumer a reason for the proposed shut off as well as inform the consumer of the right to dispute the shut off by making appropriate inquiry to the Department at an address and/or phone number which shall be provided in the notice.  The notice shall further inform the consumer that (1) once water has been shut off there will be a service fee charged for reinstatement of water service, and (2) in cases where the landlord pays the water bill, the consumer may transfer service to his or her name.

4. Procedures for contesting shut off:

a. If the consumer wishes to dispute a proposed shut off, the consumer must, within five (5) business days from the date of the notice of shut off, request a billing conference of the Customer Service Division.  Once a billing conference is requested, it shall be scheduled at the earliest reasonable opportunity for the consumer and in no case more than ten (10) days from the request and the consumer shall be given the option of having the conference over the phone or in person with the Customer Service employee who will conduct the billing conference.

b. At the billing conference the consumer shall have the right to submit evidence, present and cross examine witnesses, and bring in an interpreter, or representative to aid in presenting his case.  The consumer shall have the right to see the Department's records concerning his account, and the consumer has the right to reasonable explanation by the Customer Service employee for any matter concerning the proposed shut off.  The Customer Service employee conducting the billing conference shall not have previously been involved in the case, shall not be swayed or effected in any manner by other Department personnel, and shall exercise impartial judgment in deciding the merits of the consumer's case.

The Customer Service employee conducting the billing conference shall be empowered to correct any errors in the billing, and to take whatever remedial action is necessary including a stay in order to make a just and fair resolution of the matter.  The Customer Service employee conducting the conference shall make a final written decision within three (3) working days of the conference.

c. If the consumer is dissatisfied with the decision by the Customer Service employee conducting the billing conference, the consumer shall have the right within five (5) business days of receipt of the written decision to appeal the matter as follows: first, to the head of the Collection and Credit Section; second, to the Chief of the Customer Service Division whose decision shall be the final agency decision.  However, the amount due must be paid into an escrow trust account after the billing conference with the Customer Service employee and will not be postponed pending the appeal with the head of the Collection and Credit Section or with the Chief of the Customer Service Division.  In conducting an appeal all upper management personnel shall exercise the same impartial judgment required of the employee conducting the billing conference.

5. Where the water consumer is a tenant, the delinquent service holder is the tenant's landlord, and a discontinuation of the tenant's water service is proposed, the following special conditions will be observed:

a. Prior to shut off, notice to the tenant shall be accomplished by delivery of notice of discontinuation of water services described in Section 2-205 (3) to the tenant in person or to the premises being serviced.

b. At the same time the tenant shall also be notified that (s)he has the right and opportunity to place water service in his/ her own name. If the tenant consumer places water service in his/her own name and the changeover in service can be accomplished without serious mechanical and financial burden, the tenant will not be held responsible for the landlord's unpaid water bills.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am and renum BWS Res. No. 462, 1978; am BWS Res. No. 659, 1996]

Sec. 2-206 Restoration of Water Service

If water service is turned off because of failure to pay a bill, or for violation of any of these Rules and Regulations, all outstanding accounts against the consumer must be paid before service is restored.  For the restoration of service, a charge based on the cost of turning on the water service must be paid by the applicant.  Said charge shall be as established by the Department.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976]

Sec. 2-207 Nonregistering Meters

If a meter fails to register due to any cause except nonuse of water, an average bill may be rendered.  Such average bill will be subject to equitable adjustment, taking into account all factors before, during, and after the period of said bill.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976]

Sec. 2-208 Meter Tests and Adjustment of Bills

1. Meter Tests.  Any consumer, who for any reason questions the accuracy of the meter serving his premises, may request a test of the meter.  The consumer, if he so requests, will be notified as to the time of the test and may witness same.

2. Adjustment of Bills for Meter Inaccuracy.  If, as the result of test, the meter is found to register more than two percent fast under conditions of normal operation, the Department will refund to the consumer the overcharge based on past consumption, for a period not exceeding six months, unless it can be proved that the error was due to some cause, the date of which can be fixed.  In such latter event, the overcharge shall be computed back to, but not beyond, such date.

3. Underground Leak Adjustments.  The Department may grant adjustments for excessive bills resulting from leakage in underground piping.  This adjustment will be one-half of the excess consumption over a normal bill and will be granted only when repairs are made within two weeks after the consumer has been notified of the underground leak.  For good cause shown to the Department, an extension of time to make repairs may be granted.

4. Control and Maintenance.  The consumer has sole control of the water delivered through the meter and will be responsible for maintenance and repairs to pipes and fixtures on the consumer's side of the meter.

[Eff 5/10/76; am, renum and comp BWS Res. No. 427, 1976; am and renum BWS Res. No. 477, 1980]