Frequently Asked Questions

The Authority will mail you a bill each month for the previous month’s service. However, failure to receive a bill does not relieve the customer’s obligation to pay the bill. If you do not receive a bill, please contact our customer service department at (770) 920-3823 and we will be happy to assist you.

It is the responsibility of every customer to pay their bill in full and on time, however, from time to time customers may find themselves in a financial pinch and be unable to pay their bill. The Authority encourages customers to call us before the bill is past due to make short-term payment arrangements. If the customer does not contact the Authority and does not pay the bill on time, the customer is subject to a possible service interruption or termination of service.
If service is disconnected due to non-payment, the customer will have to pay the entire past due amount to have water restored, and a $50.00 delinquency processing fee will be added to the next billing statement. Once payment has been received, please be aware that it could take up to 24-hours for service to be restored. If there is a history of delinquencies on the account, the customer may be requested to pay an upgraded deposit.
The Authority can terminate water service if payment has not been received by the due date of any bill that includes an unpaid past due balance from previous months. This strict lock-off policy protects responsible customers like you from being burdened with the costs of negligent customers.

This could be for one of several reasons. Occasionally, when a new water line is being installed or an existing water line is being upgraded, the construction will affect adjacent areas with water pressure problems or no water while the work is being performed.
From time to time, service lines and main lines break causing leaks which need emergency repair and involve shutting the water off. When these instances occur, it is the responsibility of the Authority to repair these lines as quickly as possible and the Authority may be unable to notify adjacent customers. The Authority may impact one customer or several customers while making the repair. Please be assured that water service will be restored as quickly as possible.
When the construction division and/or engineering department is aware that construction could affect adjacent streets, efforts will be made to contact the customers with door hangers, letters, etc.

All payments are required to be made by the due date printed on the bill. However, in some cases where the customer has had a leak or is behind on their bills, payment plans can be offered to assist the customer in bringing their account current without having their water disconnected. Extended payment arrangements for past-due amounts owed for water and/or sewer service may be made under the following guidelines:
Regardless of occupancy, all payment arrangements must be in writing, with written approval of the Executive Director or authorized designee. The payment arrangement shall contain a notice that failure to comply with the payment arrangement may subject the account to water turnoff at the premises. Only one request for extended payment arrangements may be made in a twelve-month calendar period by the same customer and/or same location. No more than two short-term (less than 30 days) payment arrangements may be made in a twelve-month calendar period by the same customer and/or the same location. This short-term arrangement will be so noted on the customer’s account and will only be granted if the customer has honored the previous payment arrangements that have been made.
Water service may be discontinued without notice and payment in full is due in order to restore water service for failure to keep arrangements made.

Customers who have a check or a draft returned for insufficient funds will be charged a $30.00 NSF Fee.  Customers with a history of two or more NSF checks or drafts will be placed on a cash or card only basis.  Once placed on a cash or card only basis, the customer will be required to pay only with cash, card, cashier’s check, or money order.  The customer will remain as a cash or card only customer for up to a 12-month period of time following the incident.

Once an account has been terminated and a final bill generated, if the bill is not paid within 90 days it will then be turned over to a collection agency. Once the account has been turned over to the collection agency, a collection fee not-to-exceed 35% of the total amount due will be added to the balance owed. If a customer applies for new service they must first satisfy the bill sent to the collection agency.

Yes. The Authority offers a reduced water/sewer base rate for qualifying seniors or disabled residents. Please check our website for the required forms or contact the Customer Service Department for information on how to apply.

A residential home pays a base rate for water each month. In addition, there is a usage rate charged per thousand gallons of usage. Please check the Rates and Fees chart for more details and the current rates. The average residential household uses about 5,000 gallons per month.
If you are on sewer, there is a sewer base rate each month. You also pay a treatment charge per thousand gallons, charged on just 80% of the water used that month.

While stormwater utilities and fees for service are not new, and they are a growing trend as local governments work toward meeting the ever-increasing environmental regulations designed to improve the quality of life for us all. The Authority believes that stormwater user fees are the only fair way to fund the federal mandates of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II requirements and the state requirements of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act – which are all designed to protect our precious water resources.
Impervious surface is used as a basis for the fee because the amount of impervious surface (concrete, roof top, etc.) on a property generally correlates to the amount of stormwater runoff generated by a property.
The amount of the fee is based on $4.00 for each equivalent residential unit (ERU), which is based on 2,543 square feet of impervious surface, representing the median residential use in Douglas County. All charges for non-residential properties are based on the actual area of impervious surface divided by 2,543 to determine the number of ERUs, which is then multiplied by the $4.00 base rate.