M&I Water Leak Billing Adjustment Policy

Purpose and Scope:

The purpose of this policy is to provide Solano Irrigation District (District) with a written policy regarding providing billing adjustments for water leaks on the customer (or property) side of the meter, or significant abnormalities in water consumption.  For this policy, a customer is defined as a municipal and industrial water user.  This policy does not apply to agricultural water customers.

Introduction:


Customers are responsible for the service and fittings to the Water Utility System beginning at the coupling on the customer’s side of the meter.  Any leaks in the line which are the responsibility of the customers must be repaired, by the customer, solely at their expense.

No adjustment or credit will be applied to the water bill for the customer or property side leaks, damage or deterioration or other factors except as defined within this policy

The customer is responsible for monitoring higher than expected usage.  Customers must investigate higher than expected usage to determine if the usage was caused by a property side leak.  Upon request, District staff will provide a no charge, on-site visit.  Customers should promptly repair leaks.

Property Side Leaks - Billing Adjustment Criteria:

The General Manager, or other person delegated the responsibility by the General Manager, may adjust water billings when all of the following requirements are met:
  1. Customer shall notify the District and complete the Courtesy Leak Adjustment Application within 30 days from the bill due date for the period in which the loss occurred.
  2. A District representative must be able to visually inspect the facility and verify repairs were performed.  If repairs are completed by a third party, receipts can be provided in lieu of a visual inspection.
  3. No billing adjustment within the prior 36 months from the date of receipt of the Courtesy Leak Adjustment Application by the District.  The policy permits only one property side leak adjustment in each 36 month period.  The 36 month period begins the first month of the billing period following the billing period the Leak Adjustment Application covered.  For example, if the Leak Adjustment Application was for a bill covering January and February, the 36 month period commences on March 1.
  4. The customer’s account must be in good standing at the time of the Courtesy Leak Adjustment Application submission.
  5. The property side billing adjustment shall be limited to one billing period.  For example, if a leak persisted over more than one billing cycle, the customer shall only receive relief for excess water usage that occurred during one billing cycle.  A billing period for municipal and industrial customers is 60 days.
  6. The amount of the excess usage shall be determined by the District. Excess usage, as a result of a property side leak, must exceed at least 100% of Normal Consumption compared to the same billing period for the prior three years.  Normal Consumption shall be determined by using historical averages when available.
  7. Adjustments are limited to the water usage portion of the bill only.

Limitations:

Billing adjustments are limited amount of the bill in excess of 100% of Normal Consumption, not to exceed $1,500. 

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