Starting
new service (Opening an account with us)
A. If you want to start service at a residence, business or other location where the water service is now turned off, please apply for service by clicking here, or visit our office at 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro 27510. You can also send us a signed application by US Mail or by fax to 919-968-4464.
Our normal charge for opening an account and starting your water and sewer service is $ 45 ($ 80 for work on a weekend or holiday or after 5:00 PM on a weekday).
- If you call to have service connected after our normal office hours, an $80.00 fee will be collected by our field personnel perfo rming the work.
- If you apply for service during normal business hours, we will connect your service within 24 hours of the application date or the date requested. The $45.00 service initiation fee will be billed to your first month’s bill.
B. If the water service is on, you can choose between two methods for starting service in your name. Please read the following information carefully so that you can decide which is the correct option for you. The key question is when you became or will become responsible for the service address as the owner or tenant.
1. "Name change" method. If you have occupied the property since or just before the last meter reading date, you may wish to put the account in your name by simply filling out a "name change" form. With this option, your first bill would include charges for service since the last meter reading when the account was in the previous customer's name. The advantage of this option is that there is a lower fee ($10).
To help you decide whether to use the "name change" option, we'll be glad to give you the last meter reading date and the meter reading.
2. "New account." Alternatively, you can start a completely new account in your name. This option will involve the $ 45 service initiation fee.
With this option, the service initiation charge is higher than with a "name change," but you would not be responsible for the previous occupant's water consumption. We will start your account with a new meter reading on the date you give us.
If a large amount is past due for the previous account at your service location, we may ask you to provide a lease or purchase closing documents to confirm the date when you became or will become the owner or tenant.
C. Management agreements with property owners (optional)
If you are the owner of rental property, we invite you to enter into a Management Agreement with us so that your account will automatically revert to your name if we receive a disconnect order from your tenant. (We will read the meter when your tenant moves out.)
In this way, you can avoid interruption of service while you are cleaning up, etc. between tenants. Also, you would be charged only the $10 "name change" fee instead of the usual $ 45 service initiation fee when the account returns to your name.
Please click here to read the agreement and/or to signup.
When can someone else sign an application for service in your name?
A property management company or other representative may apply for service in your name only if you have given them properly executed documents authorizing them to do so and they provide those documents to us.
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Service
to multiple locations or residences from one meter
If one water meter serves more than one location or living unit (for example: two duplex apartments, a rooming house or more than one business in a shopping center), it is necessary that the account be in the owner's name. This policy is intended to avoid having a service request from one tenant that would affect another tenant's service, and to avoid having to allocate costs among tenants who share one meter.
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Security
Deposits
Residential customers. You are not required to make a security deposit if you have a good payment history with us or own the property at your service address. If a deposit is required, the amount for a residence is normally $5 0 or three times the expected average monthly bill, whichever is greater. Security deposits need to be made before service initiation. (No interest is paid on security deposits.)
Businesses and most other non-residential customers are required to pay a security deposit, or provide an irrevocable letter of credit or surety bond. Government agencies are not required to pay security deposits; but contractors or agencies working for a government are required to pay deposits.
Commercial security deposits are computed as two times the average monthly bill of the previous customer at the same location over the past calendar year. If there is no previous customer at the service location, we will determine the deposit amount based on the best information available to us, such as our experience with similar types, sizes, etc. of businesses. If your bills are substantially lower than the previous customer's for a full year, we will be glad to reduce your security deposit at your request to reflect three times your actual bills for the year.
We will apply your security deposit to your final bill when you discontinue your service. (We do not pay interest on security deposits.)
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Ending
Your Service (Closing your account)
When you wish to end your service,
please click here to notify
us by e-mail or send us a written request by mail, hand-delivery or
by fax to our office. Our address is 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro,
NC 27510, and our fax number is 919-968-4464.
Your signed letter will help avoid
questions about whether and when you asked that we close your account.
Please indicate the date when you
want your service disconnected*, your current address, forwarding address,
phone number and account number.
*Please note: We will
disconnect your service as soon as practical after receiving your
request. Normally, the earliest we will be able to disconnect service
will be on the business day after we receive your request. Water disconnection
may occur as early as 8:00 a.m.
We ask that you give us notice a week in advance if possible.
Further, if we have an application
for new service at the same address before your service disconnection
date, we will just read the meter instead of turning it off.
As an alternative for your convenience,
you may simply call us at 919-968-4421 to have your account closed.
However, we recommend that you make this request by filling out our
on-line disconnection form or in writing as a precaution to avoid
confusion.
When we disconnect your service,
we will take a final meter reading, then turn the meter off unless we
have a new application for service. Within two weeks, we will apply
your security deposit (if you had one) to your account balance and mail
you a final bill, or a refund check if your deposit was higher than
your final bill.
If you move and someone else will
remain in the apartment or house, it will still be necessary to contact
us to have your name removed from the water/sewer account. If you leave
your name on an account, you will continue to be responsible for paying
the bills even if you no longer reside in or use the apartment, house
or business location.
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Restarting
service that has been turned off/Reconnection of service
If your water/ sewer
service has been turned off for non-payment of a past due bill, you
may have your service restored by contacting us and paying the past
due amount, plus a charge of $30 or more. The amount of the added charge
depends on how quickly the past due amount is paid and whether the reconnection
occurs during or after normal business hours. (Please call OWASA Customer
Service at 968-4421 for more specific information.)
A security deposit
may also be required in order to have service reconnected.
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Water
Service Cut-Off Policy
If your bill is not paid by the
time we mail you the next month's bill, the new bill will include a "Previous Balance" message. If this balance is not paid within
two weeks, the customer will receive a "Reminder Notice" which
includes the past due amount and the scheduled service cut-off date.
If payment is not received in the Customer Service Office before the
cut-off date, an added charge of $40 or more will apply. The amount
of the added charge depends on how quickly the past due amount is paid
and whether the reconnection occurs during or after normal business
hours. (Please call OWASA Customer Service at 968-4421 for more specific
information.) A security deposit may also be required in order to have
service reconnected.
If you feel you have received a "Previous Balance" message or "Disconnect Alert" in error, please contact our Customer Service staff as soon as possible
during normal business hours (telephone: 919-968-4421).
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Payment
Extension Policy
If you are unable to pay your bill
on time, come to the Customer Service office to arrange a payment schedule
which lists the amounts and dates of payments you agree to make.
It saves us all time, money and effort if you make payment extension
arrangements before your water is disconnected. Let us know if you cannot
pay your bill on time-we are happy to work with you.
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Bill
adjustments for loss of metered water
Under some
circumstances involving leaks and other water losses beyond your reasonable
control, we can give you a credit on your bill once very three years
as an incentive to make plumbing system repairs.
Below is a
summary of our current policy on bill adjustments. Please note that
this policy was revised on March 27, 2003 and that it now allows a
bill adjustment due to water loss for various reasons once every three
years. (Sewer bill adjustments are allowed annually when a pool is
filled.)
If you have
any questions, please call us at 968-4421 and ask for Customer Service.
Please click here if you wish to read the entire new policy.
| A. For
situations where the lost water did not return to the sewer
system, the adjustments are: |
For water
service, 50% of the amount exceeding the previous 12 months' average
monthly bill, excluding the month(s) of excessive water use for which
an adjustment is requested.*
For sewer service,
100% of the amount exceeding the previous twelve months' average monthly
bill, excluding the month(s) of excessive water use for which an adjustment
is requested.*
* If a twelve-month average
of your bills is not available, the average will be based on the greater
of 2,000 gallons per month or your rate of water consumption after repairs
are completed.
The situations where lost
water does not return to the sewer system may include:
- Frozen and burst pipes,
- Leaks in Irrigation
systems or outdoor spigots,
- Faulty water heaters,
- Faulty pressure reducing
valves,
- Vandalism, and
- Unexplained water loss
(decided on a case by case basis).
| B. For situations
where the lost water returned to the sewer system, the adjustments
are: |
For water service, one-half
of the amount exceeding the previous twelve months' average monthly
bill, excluding the month(s) of excessive water use for which an adjustment
is requested.*
For sewer service, one-half
of the amount exceeding the previous twelve months' average monthly
bill, excluding the month(s) of excessive water use for which an adjustment
is requested.*
* If a twelve-month average
of your bills is not available, the average will be based on the greater
of 2,000 gallons per month or your rate of water consumption after repairs
are completed.
The situations where lost
water returns to the sewer system may include malfunctioning toilets,
and leaking indoor faucets.
Please note:
Adjustments must be requested
within 90 days of the date of the high water bill due to water loss/leak,
or within 90 days of when OWASA notified you of the problem, whichever
came first.
Adjustments may be made for
water loss over a time up to three billing periods (about three months).
As indicated above, customers
may receive one adjustment every three years for metered water loss
due to the causes listed above. However, once per year we can make an
adjustment to sewer charges for filling a pool if water put in the pool
was not returned to the sewer system
When we make a bill adjustment,
we will mail you a letter explaining the amount of the adjustment.
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At your request and subject to the potential charge explained below,
we will be glad to test the accuracy of the water meter at your residence
or business.
If our meter is accurate
within 1.5% plus or minus (the American Water Works Association standard),
there will be a $100 service charge to you for testing a standard 5/8" residential meter. (Please call Customer Service for information on
the testing charges for larger meters.)
If the meter has not
been tested during the past five years or if the meter is inaccurate
by more than plus or minus 1.5%, there will be no service charge to
you, and the meter will be changed.
Further, if the meter
is inaccurate in our favor, you will receive an adjustment on your bill
accordingly. However, it is rare for a meter to register more water
than is passing through the meter.
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Revised 12/2001
Email our Customer Service Department
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