BIRCH BAY WATER & SEWER DISTRICT

SUBJECT: Adjustment to Utility Bill — Water Leaks

Adjustments in commodity charges for water and/or sewer services, due to leaks, may be made by the District General Manager. For the purposes of implementing this policy, “leak” refers to any unintentional or unexplained loss of a significant quantity of water.

Requests for adjustments must be made in writing, by the property owner, stating all facts pertaining to the leak. A physical check of the meter will be made by District staff to verify the information provided.

Adjustments shall be such that the charges for the current 60 day billing period, and the 60 day billing period immediately prior to the discovery of the leak may be adjusted to the average of the last three (3) billings prior to the leak or the usage of the prior year for the corresponding period(s), whichever is greater. The current commodity charges for water and/or sewer shall apply for the adjusted (average) usage. That is, there will be no commodity charge for usage over average.

The District staff will assist in notification of leaks or high usage, but it shall remain the property owner’s responsibility to discover and repair any leak. To be eligible for a leak credit, the owner must immediately cease unintentional water usage, or complete repairs within two (2) weeks of the date the property owner was notified by the District, or otherwise knew or should have known of the leak. Failure to stop the loss of water would forfeit any opportunity for a bill adjustment. Late fees occurring after receipt of the request for adjustment are eligible for credit.

If there is no valve on the customer side of the meter there shall be no credit processed on the account until a valve is installed.

In any case, no adjustment may be made for a loss of less than 1000 cubic feet per ELU within a 60-day billing period or more than one adjustment in a thirty-six (36) month period (same account). Adjustments more than $1000 must be board approved.

The reason for the one adjustment per thirty-six month period is to promote proper maintenance of the customer’s water lines. Customers who have experienced leaks should inspect their entire system and insure that it is properly maintained.

Effective: 01/01/99
Revised: 5/22/2014