Updated: February 15, 2007

New DEP Billing Notice Lets Water Customers Know of Potential Leaks

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection will now distribute special notices in its quarterly statements to water customers with unusually high bills. Many such bills are the result of leaks that start small and the new alert system draws customer attention to these issues in order to remedy them quickly and effectively. The new program is part of DEP’s ongoing efforts to improve customer service and billing for New York City’s 825,000 water account holders.

In announcing this service, Commissioner Emily Lloyd stated that “DEP’s new billing notices will greatly improve customer service and help ensure that wasteful leaks and other service issues are identified before they become significant, costly problems.”

The notices list frequent causes of high water bills and offer clear easy ways for customers to check for and address each issue. DEP estimates that nearly 400 notices will be sent to water customers each day.

The most likely reasons for high bills are simple toilet leaks. High water bills can also occur when previous bills have been estimates while the new high bill reflects actual meter readings. Inaccurate meter reading is also a potential reason for a bill that seems too high.

For more information about your water bill, call DEP’s Customer Service Center at (718)595-7000. Our hours of operation are 9AM-5PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and 9AM-8PM on Tuesday and Thursday.