02 May OWASA Announces Resumption of Standard Collection Practices
Orange Water and Sewer Authority will be resuming Standard Collection Practices on June 1, 2022. Funding assistance is still available for customers who have bills that are past due, and OWASA is offering extended, fee-free payment plans to assist customers pay down any debts accrued since March 2020.
Please click here for more information on assistance available to customers.
OWASA has had a moratorium on service disconnections in place since March 12, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. OWASA has been using the Orange County State of Emergency as guidance for resuming Standard Collection Practices. With the declaration expiring on May 1, 2022, OWASA is providing 30 days of notice before resuming Standard Collection Practices on June 1.
Under Standard Collection Practices, a customer who has a bill that is more than 60 days past due is subject to service disconnection. In this scenario, the earliest a customer could have their service disconnected would be August 2022.
Funding assistance is available for customers who have bills that are past due. OWASA is offering fee-free, 6-, 12-, and 18-month payment plans for these customers. OWASA is directly reaching out to all customers who have bills that are more than 60 days past due to ensure they are aware of the funding assistance and extended payment plans.
Throughout the pandemic, we have been working with local organizations and directly with these customers who have bills that are past due to let them know where funding assistance is available. Since the beginning of the pandemic, OWASA customers have received over $235,000 in bill assistance from various programs. Bill assistance still exists to help customers cover their past-due balances.
We understand the impact the pandemic has had on all customers, especially those who have now accumulated bills throughout the last two years, and we are committed to working with them wherever possible to keep their water and sewer service connected.
For more information, contact Customer Service at customerinquiries@owasa.org or (919) 537-4343.