Water Leak Billing Adjustment Policy: City of Austin & General Guidelines

Many organizations provide water and wastewater services to customers across the nation and world-wide. One of the greatest detriments to the success and viability of a water and wastewater service provider is water leaks within the system. All utilities should have an established, multifaceted program to combat the negative effects associated with water system leaks. Part of the City of Austin Water Utility’s water leak management program is a utility billing adjustment policy that lightens the financial burden of utility customers for water leaks that increase their water and wastewater utility bills. It allows the utility to recoup some of the operating costs associated with the services provided while still assessing a “penalty” to the customer for wasted water. Current policies are too liberal and generous in their criteria and are being exploited by customers beyond their original intent. A revision of the policy is being considered to strengthen the financial position of the utility and to further promote water conservation efforts by customers. To evaluate the utility’s current policy, the historical and current positions of the city on water leak adjustments will be examined along with other utility policies from across the country to determine whether or not policies dealing with water leak adjustments require modifications and their impact to the utility and consumer.Research revealed that the American Water Works Association (AWWA) offers little to no direction in regards to creating policy to address billing adjustments for customer water leaks. With a lack of industry standards addressing water leak billing adjustments, the policies of 112 utilities of various sizes and locations were researched. The City of Austin Water Utility will serve as a case study on the financial impacts of water leak adjustment policies. In addition to creating specific recommendations tailored to the City of Austin Water Utility, a set of general guidelines and considerations will be created that should provide a solid reference for the creation or revision of other utilities’ policies.