With temperatures plummeting during the winter months, the following actions may be helpful in keeping water lines thawed and functional:
In the event of possible frozen lines, you may call (315)785-7757 (or [315]785-7845, when offices are closed) to report the address. Our personnel will determine whether the problem is the responsibility of the property owner or the City. If the water meter has frozen and broken, there will be a charge to the property owner for the replacement of that meter and all associated labor and materials (see Code Books Online at the City’s website, www.watertown-ny.gov, Chapter 301, subsection 6, Installation and Safeguarding of Meter, for details).
In the event of a major leak or break in plumbing inside of your property, you may contact our main office at (315)785-7757 and we can send personnel to shut the water off. If an emergency occurs outside normal business hours, please call (315)785-7845 to report the problem.
To report any water emergencies such as broken water mains, service lines (between meter and street), fire hydrants or gushing water in the street, please call (315) 785-7757 or (315)785-8870 to inform staff of the problem. After hours, please call (315) 785-7845.
Leaks occurring at any place after our meter (from the meter into the property/home) are the responsibility of the property owner. If the leak results in a higher than usual water bill, it is the owner’s responsibility to pay for the usage.
For quarterly billing, the city is divided into 3 sections, each having different billing periods and due dates. If you would like to know in which months your bill will be due, please feel free to contact our office. Alternatively, you may reference your bill to find your account number. Which section your property is in is indicated by the first two digits of your account number and can be used to find the months in which a bill will be due in the chart below. The payment for your bill will always be due no later than the 20th of that month.
51 | 52 | 53 |
March | February | January |
June | May | April |
September | August | July |
December | November | October |
Water/sewer bills are always issued in a physical format and mailed via USPS. Those who utilize the City’s online payment portal are welcome to sign up for email alerts that are issued when a new bill is uploaded to the portal for payment, however, please be aware that you will also receive alerts when any new bill is uploaded, including tax bills. The type of bill uploaded will be indicated on each email alert issued.
• At the City Comptroller’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, located at 245 Washington St, Watertown, NY. Business hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. The office is closed on all federal holidays. They will accept payment in the form of cash, checks, or money orders.
• Automatic bank draft – enrollment forms are available at City Hall and on the City website at www.watertown-ny.gov. Completed forms should be returned to City Hall for processing – remember to include documentation of the bank account you want to be utilized for automatic bank draft with your enrollment form, as forms submitted without it cannot be processed. Once processing is completed, you will receive a bank draft notice in place of a bill each month that will list your usage and dollar amount due. The amount due will be deducted from your bank account on file on the due date.
• Online bill pay at www.watertown-ny.gov. Follow the links under “Pay A Bill” to make a payment. You will need the homeowner’s last name and the street name as it appears on the bill. This method does include a nominal convenience fee that will be clearly indicated for your review before approving any payment.
A chart of current water/sewer rates is maintained on the City website here.
Sewer bills are calculated based on the amount of water consumed during the billing period.
The Water Department does not reduce the amount billed or otherwise make exceptions or bill reductions based on water used to fill a pool, water a lawn, or other similar activities.
Water consumption is represented by a numerical figure on your bill referred to by the Water Department as a “unit.” Each “unit” is equal to 100 cubic feet, or approximately 748 gallons, of water.
To calculate your usage in gallons, multiply the number in the “Usage” column of your bill by 748. For example, if your usage was 9, you would multiply 9 by 748 to find that your usage in gallons would be 6,732.
Any unpaid water/sewer bills are relevied (transferred to) the property’s City Tax bill every year in June, generally around the middle of the month. A reminder about this will be included in the notes on bills issued leading up to the transfer.
The City reserves the right to shut off water services with unpaid accounts. Dates of upcoming shut-offs will be included in the notes on bills leading up to the event. Properties due to be shut off will be issued a bright red “Shut-Off Notice” at least one month in advance.
The City has a reading system that uses radio waves transmitted by the dial portion of your meter. Readings are gathered by Water Department staff using a receiver mounted inside one of our department vehicles.
You can still read the meter installed within your property by shining a bright light down on the digital display to “wake it up.”
It is the responsibility of the property owner to monitor their property for problems with its internal plumbing.
Administrative staff with the Water Department will attempt to contact property owners following regularly scheduled readings if their property is found to have high usage or a flag indicating there may be a problem. It is recommended that property owners keep a phone number, email address, and up-to-date mailing address on file for this purpose.
This is the property owner’s decision and would be included as part of the rental agreement with their tenant.
The City of Watertown does not recognize the contract between a landlord and their tenant and will not put a water/sewer bill under a tenant’s name, as unpaid water/sewer bills are relevied to a property’s City Tax bill. Water/sewer bills must be mailed either directly to the property owner at their mailing address or care of their property manager.
The presence of a water meter within a property will still result in a minimum quarterly bill regardless of usage. There is a minimum charge based on meter size. The only way to avoid a water/sewer bill is to have the meter removed and the service temporarily terminated.
If you decide to have the water turned off, please notify our offices at least 24 hours ahead of time so that we may schedule an appointment with you to remove the meter. The Water Department, barring an emergency, will not shut off water service to a property without first removing the meter. As long as the meter is undamaged, there will be no charge for removing a meter. Reinstalling a meter is also done free of charge. Someone must be present at the property while this work is being done.
Please note that if a meter has been removed from a property for more than one calendar year, a pressure test will have to be witnessed and approved by Code Enforcement before the Water Department will reinstall that meter. A pressure test is performed to be sure that the pipes can withstand the pressure of the water that will be moving through them.
Please call our offices at (315)785-7757 to report any problems with your meter. We will set up an appointment for you with our Meter Service crew, who will meet you at your property to inspect, repair, or replace your meter.
Please be aware that the property owner is responsible for the safeguarding of the meter while it is installed within their property. As such, the property owner is responsible for the cost of any repairs or replacements of frozen or broken meters. See Code Books Online (at the City’s website, www.watertown-ny.gov) Chapter 301, subsection 6, Installation and Safeguarding of Meter, for details.
The customer owns the water service pipe from the water service connection in the street to the meter and all other pipes after the meter. The customer is therefore responsible for the cost of a water service pipe replacement. See Code Books Online at the City’s website (www.watertown-ny.gov) Chapter 301, subsection 5, Responsibility for Costs of Curb-Stop to-Meter Service and Repairs, for details.
Cloudiness in water is caused by tiny air bubbles. After a short time, the bubbles rise to the top and the cloudiness disappears.
Discolored water is usually caused by flow changes in the water mains. Sediment, which is usually caused by pipe corrosion, can build up on the inside of water main pipes. This sediment can be disturbed when the pressure or direction of the water flow changes, causing it to become suspended in the drinking water and come out of the tap.
If you experience discolored water, run all cold-water faucets for two to three minutes, shut the water off, allow the water to settle for about 15 minutes, and run the water again for two to three minutes. If the water does not run clear, repeat this process. Do not run the hot water faucets until the cold water runs clear. If the water does not become clear after repeating this process multiple times, please contact us at (315)785-7757.
