DEP Expands Enforcement Actions Against Delinquent Water Accounts

Delinquent accounts owe a total of $124 million.

During the pandemic, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) saw a significant increase in the number and balance of delinquent accounts. In fact, the total of delinquent payments nearly doubled to $1.2 billion, which threatened the operations and capital needs of a service the city couldn’t survive without.

DEP recently announced an expansion of its enforcement actions against approximately 2,900 chronically delinquent water service accounts. These accounts owe a total of $124 million. These actions follow a temporary amnesty program for overdue water bills implemented last year. The limited-time amnesty program forgave up to 100 percent of interest when delinquent customers paid a portion or all of their outstanding water bills. This program saved chronically delinquent accounts around $22 million in interest on their water bills.

As of January, those who didn’t take advantage of the amnesty program to pay off their outstanding debt began to receive water shut-off warning letters from DEP. If balances aren’t resolved, DEP says that it will begin the process of shutting off water service this month. To avoid this, delinquent accounts must be paid in full or enter into a payment agreement. If a property’s water service is terminated there will be a $1,000 shut-off fee and their past due account balance must be paid with a minimum 25 percent down payment to have the water service restored.

According to DEP, money received through these enforcement actions will be used to keep water rates low for all customers and pay for repairs needed. These repairs will include maintenance and upgrades to 15,000 miles of water and sewer mains, 19 reservoirs, 12,000 rain gardens, and 14 wastewater resource recovery facilities.

Customers can make payments or enter into a payment agreement online at www.nyc.gov/dep, by calling 1-866-622-8292, in person at a borough office, or by mail to the NYC Water Board. Convenience fees apply to credit/debit card payments, but no fee is charged by the Water Board if payment is made by checking or savings account. DEP also offers a number of financial assistance programs to assist property owners in paying their water bills, including a leak forgiveness program and multifamily water assistance program.