Water Sewer Adjustment Policy

Water/Sewer Forgiveness Policy

The Village President and/or the Village Administrator may grant water/sewer adjustments for the following reasons ONLY:

• Residents or businesses must notify the water/sewer department of an excessive utility bill that may be related to a leak.
• Water consumption exceeds the customer’s average monthly usage over the previous 12-month period.
• Leak occurred on the customer’s side of the meter.
• Plumber’s receipt or other proof that confirms the leak was related and repaired.

Clerical billing or meter reading error

Property or business owners can request a review of your current utility billing by contacting the Water/Sewer Department at 309-799-3604, or by submitting the attached form or mailing it to Village Hall at P.O. Box 105 Coal Valley, IL. 61240, Attn: Water/Sewer Department. The review will consist of reviewing the amount billed and, if required, re-reading the water meter. If it is determined that a clerical error or a meter reading error did occur, the property or business owner shall be credited the full amount of the error on their next utility billing.

Water meter leak checks/tests

If you think that your water meter may not be reading accurately, please contact the Water/Sewer Department at 309-799-3604, or submit the below form by mailing it to Village Hall, ATTN: Water/Sewer Department. You can request a leak check at your property. Note: any dispute of a meter reading does not waive property or business owner’s responsibility to pay their utility billing by its due date.

Water/Leak Adjustment

It is the property or business owner’s responsibility to find any leaks, or set up a leak check appointment with the Water/Sewer Department at 309-799-3604. Once a leak is found, the property or business owner should repair the water leak immediately, and submit documentation of the repair to the Water/Sewer Department along with the completed application for adjustment requested included in this policy. It is the property or business owner’s responsibility to properly maintain their private water service, including any irrigation sprinkler system. This responsibility includes promptly discovering and repairing any leaks in their private water system and to limit
the amount of water loss through a leak. A leak in the property or business owner’s water service is
the sole responsibility of the property or business owner.

After review by the Village President and/or the Village Administrator, they may, in their sole discretion, grant a credit, or adjustment, not to exceed $5,000, to a property or business owner’s utility billing for a leak in their water/sewer system, in accordance with the following provisions:

1. The property or business owner has repaired the leak immediately and in no case later than 30 days after the leak was discovered. Written documentation of the leak and repair, if contracted out to a plumber; including a copy of approved repairs by the Village plumbing inspector, shall be provided.
2. The property or business owner reports the leak within 30 days of the billing date. Failure to report the leak and request a credit within the 30 day pay period shall be justification for not granting a leak adjustment credit.
3. The property or business owner has not received a leak adjustment credit within the last five years.
4. To be adjusted, the water/sewer leak must not be readily evident to a reasonable person (such as water/sewer leaks that are underground, within walls, or under floors), or the water/sewer leak must occur while occupants are away from the premises.
5. If an adjustment credit is granted, the amount of the credit shall not exceed $5,000. If the adjustment request exceeds $5,000, the request will require Board of Trustee approval.
6. A calculation method will be used based on the most recent 12 months of data to obtain the average usage.
7. Adjustments on utility billing will NOT be made on the following:
   • Routine dripping faucets;
   • Filling of swimming pools;
   • Irrigation systems, watering of lawns, water-siphon operated pumps/appliances;
   • Bills claimed to be lost or not received;
   • Homes under construction/major renovation;
   • Meter has been tampered with, or turned on/off by anyone other than a Village Public Works employee;
   • Property or business owner did NOT take immediate steps, after detection of the water leak, to prevent further loss of water;
   • Property or business owner did NOT provide proof of the repair (pictures, receipts for any materials, services related to the repair;
   • Property owner did NOT obtain inspection and approval from Village Public Works;
8. The Village shall not be obligated to make any adjustment for any utility bills not contested within thirty (30) days from the billing date.
9. All requests for utility billing adjustments must be received in person, or in writing, during regular business hours. A written request must be completed for each adjustment stating the necessary information about the water leak and verifying the water leak repair.

If you are experiencing trouble filling out the form below, download a PDF copy here and mail it to Village Hall, ATTN: Water/Sewer Department.