Council Passes PWP Water Leak Program

Introduced by the Pasadena Water and Power Department, a program approved Monday by the City Council will address complaints about unusually high water charges, some of which can be traced to water leaks on private property.

PWP customers may not be aware of the leaks until they are notified through a high-usage letter or after receiving a utility bill.

Now, impacted customers could receive an adjustment on their bill.

The proposal was discussed last week at the virtual meeting of the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee, during which members of the community and PWP customers were allowed to submit input.

PWP previously had no policy or procedure to allow for bill adjustments, which some customers have often inquired about due to unusually high water bills that later turned out to be the result of leaks on their property. In many cases, customers often said they were not aware of the leaks because these were difficult to detect, or the leaks occurred while they were away.

Bill adjustments as a result of applying the Water Leak Adjustment policy will be funded by revenues derived from non-retail rate sources, primarily rental fees for property owned and operated by the utility, PWP officials said in the report to the council.

Customers who are experiencing leaks or have experienced them recently can fill out a Water Leak Assistance request form on which they can specify the billing period they are requesting a fee adjustment for after providing information on the leak, including whether the customer has requested that repairs be made.

PWP’s general manager can then address occasional requests from customers who have experienced excessive water loss resulting in high water bills from leaks on their property.