Water & Sewer Leak Adjustment

Water & Sewer Leak Adjustment Policy

Responsibilities:

Customer: Responsible for the maintenance and repair of water service pipe from the meter to the building, including plumbing inside of the building. It is the customer's responsibility to keep the meter box accessible and unencumbered by landscaping, fences, and all obstructions.

The City of Moses Lake: Responsible and will maintain the water meter and meter box. The City monitors for abnormal increases in water usage and, as a courtesy, may send you a letter or a Meter Reader may leave you a door tag to alert you to a possible leak. If you discover that you have a leak, you may qualify for an adjustment of water and/or sewer charges on your bill.

The City of Moses Lake will not adjust utility bills where excess water consumption is due to a customer's neglect or failure to timely repair the leak. No adjustments are made for leaks to irrigation systems, pools, water features, hoses left running, leaking faucets or toilet tanks.

Procedure:

Leak must be repaired within fourteen (14) days of discovery, or notification from City that a probable leak exists, whichever occurs sooner.

Customer must complete the Water & Sewer Leak Adjustment Credit Request Form and provide receipts and/or photos of repair to the Utility Billing Department for review by the Finance Director or their designee.

The customer's utility account must be current with no past due amounts owed to the city.

About the Leak Adjustment Credit:

Properties, if applicable, may be granted a leak adjustment credit once every five years.

When a leak occurs, the water overage may be reflected on more than one billing cycle. In those instances, the City will utilize both contiguous cycles for the purpose of calculating leak adjustment credits.

Adjustments for water service leaks are limited to 50% of the total water charge in the billing period(s) the leak is detected up to a maximum of $500.00. Adjustments below $25.00 will not be processed.

Water usage exceeding 3,000 cubic feet in a billing period is billed at a higher water conservation rate per the fee schedule adopted in November 2021, effective January 1, 2022. For the purpose of calculating leak adjustment credits, water usage over 3,000 cubic feet will be adjusted to the lower rate to provide the highest credit possible.

Where the customer's sewer bill is based upon water consumption, an adjustment will be allowed to the water and sewer charge provided the water from the leak did not enter the sanitary sewer system.

The City of Moses Lake will set up an incremental payment schedule on the remaining balance of the leak amount at the customer's request. The bill must be paid in full within six (6) months of incurring the charges. Late charges on the leak amount will be waived if the customer adheres to the prearranged payment schedule.