Water Service Line Leaks Policy

It is the Member’s responsibility to properly maintain his or her water system and any irrigation sprinkler system connected to such system. The Member’s water system includes all water and related facilities and appurtenances on the Member’s side of the water meter. This responsibility includes the responsibility to promptly discover and repair leaks in the Member’s water system and to limit the amount of water loss through a leak. A leak in the Member’s water system is the sole responsibility of the Member and includes any leak caused by third parties such as contractors engaged in work on the Member’s property.

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The Association may, in its sole discretion, grant a credit, or adjustment, to a Member’s water bill for a leak in the Member’s water system, taking into account the following inclusive circumstances:

• The Member has repaired the leak within 30 days of being notified of the leak, or within 30 days of when the leak was discovered. Proof (written documentation) of repair of the leak, to the Association’s satisfaction, will be required within 30 days of the repair before a credit may be granted by the Association. If the required paperwork is not received within this 30 day period, penalties on the water bill will accrue per regular Association policy.

  Application for Leak Credit

• The Member is not in violation of any Association policies and is otherwise current in the Member’s obligations to the Association.

• Once the monthly bill is received by the Member, which includes the volume of leaked water, the Member is obligated to pay a minimum of 12% of the total balance. If this 12% creates a payment hardship to the Member, then the Member can contact the Association office and arrange for a payment plan. This payment plan may be for a 6-month period by signing a Promissory note with the Association. The interest rate will be the current Federal Funds Prime Rate + 1%.

• A credit may only be applied to a maximum of two consecutive billing cycles. If a leak occurs over more than two billing cycles the credit will be applied to the two billing cycles with the most usage.

• Once a Member receives a credit or adjustment, the Member may not be granted another credit or adjustment for ten years.

If granted, the amount of any credit or adjustment will be computed as follows:

1. The excess usage is computed by determining the total amount of cubic feet used during the billing cycle(s) in which the leak originates and deducting the 2-year historic average of usage during the same
   billing cycle(s). If the leak spans two consecutive billing cycles the leak credit will be computed using the two periods as total usage. If the Member has less than 2 years of history for the billing cycle(s),
   a shorter time frame may be used.

2. The excess usage amount is multiplied by the usage rate for the lowest consumption block in the Association’s rate structure. This computation gives the amount charged for the excess usage.

3. The charge for the historic average usage is computed.

4. The excess usage charge is added to the average usage charge. This computation gives the total adjusted water charge.

5. The adjusted water bill charge is subtracted from the actual water bill charge to arrive at the allowable water leak credit.

The General Manager may grant exceptions to this policy in unusual circumstances. Any Member aggrieved by a decision of the General Manager shall have the right to appeal the decision to the Board. Such appeals shall be filed in writing within 10 days of the date of notification of the General Manager’s decision.