• The program is open to all customers, regardless of income level.
• The customer applying for relief must own the property.
• The property must be:
  • A residential single family, 2-unit, or 3-unit building; or
  • A commercial property with a water service line 1” in size or smaller.
• The property must have an eligible leak confirmed by Department of Water Management.

• The leak must have been repaired on or after January 1, 2023.
• The location of the leak must have been confirmed by the Department of Water Management.
• The leak must have been located on the customer’s outdoor underground service line in a location that would increase the customer’s utility bill. This means the water meter is located outdoors (typically underground in a meter vault).
• The leak must be between the meter vault and the building. Please see below for an image showing the location of leaks eligible for the LRP:

The charges from the time of the eligible leak will be reduced to an average of what is typically used at the property. Department of Finance will apply a credit to the customer’s account to reduce the amount of the impacted bills. If the leak impacted the customer’s bills for more than one billing period, the credit will cover all billing periods affected by the leak.

The LRP is a 2-year pilot program that will run from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026.

Yes, an account currently enrolled in UBR is eligible for LRP.  Eligibility for LRP is independent of eligibility for, and enrollment in, the UBR program. If approved for LRP, the applicant may be eligible for an adjustment to UBR reduced-rate bills and/or the temporary set-aside balance.

Any water, sewer, water tax and sewer tax charges that have been permanently forgiven under the UBR program are ineligible for further benefits, as these charges have already been permanently forgiven and are no longer owed.

Yes. Accounts enrolled in payment arrangements are eligible for LRP.

No.  We will calculate your benefit amount without regard to whether you paid some, or all, of the charges on bills impacted by an eligible leak.  The benefit is applied in the form of a credit to your utility billing account. 

If you paid some or all of the bills impacted by an eligible leak, your overall account balance may become a credit balance (negative balance).  If the benefit applied to your utility account’s balance results in an overall credit balance (negative balance) on your utility account, you can choose to have the credit balance (negative balance) apply toward future bills or you can apply for a refund.

Our refund application can be found here. When applying for a refund, please note that you must provide proof of the most recent payments which total the amount of the credit balance (negative balance) on your account.  Acceptable types of proof of payment are listed on the refund application.

Yes.  Accounts receiving the MeterSave 7-year guarantee or the Senior Sewer Exemption are eligible for LRP.

No. Garbage fees are charged for collection of garbage, and so they are not impacted by a water leak at your property, and not reduced by the LRP.

• Jane Eyre owns a 3-flat building. Her building has a water meter in an outdoor underground vault. Her bi-monthly water bills are typically $250 - $300 per bill cycle.  
• In March 2024, she receives a bi-monthly water bill for $1,500.  She checks all areas of her building for leaks, broken pipes, and running toilets but does not find anything. She then calls 311 and requests the Department of Water Management check for an outdoor leak.  
• Department of Water Management locates a leak on her underground service line between the meter vault and her home and replaces her service line under their Breaks & Leaks Replacement Program.  
• Jane applies to the Department of Finance for Leak Relief for her utility bill through the LRP Program.  
• Department of Finance reviews Jane’s application and determines she qualifies for the City’s Water Leak Relief Pilot program and adjusts the high bill down from $1,500 to $275 (the average amount of her bills prior to the leak).
• Jane pays the bill, now reduced to $275. She has saved $1,225 as a result. 

• Alejandro owns a small commercial building with a water service size of 1 inch or smaller. 
• Alejandro’s typical monthly utility charges are $1,000 per month. However, for the last three months his monthly water bills increased to $2,000 per month. He had been paying these bills but felt something was wrong. 
• He called the Department of Finance, who let him know his bills are for actual water usage and his water meter is located in an outdoor underground vault.
• Alejandro had already checked the interior of his property for leaks, so he decided to call 311 to request the Department of Water Management check for leaks underground between his building and the meter vault. The Department of Water Management checked and found a leak underground between the meter vault and the building.
• When the Department of Water Management located the leak, they let Alejandro know that he qualifies for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program because he has a break or leak on his lead service line. Replacement of his lead service line would stop the underground leak. 
• Alejandro wants to stop the leak right away, so he hires a licensed and bonded contractor.
• The contractor applies for a B-permit with the Department of Buildings.
• The contractor repairs the underground leak.
• The contractor contacts the Department of Water Management, who sends a plumbing inspector to inspect the repair.
• Alejandro applies to the Department of Finance for leak relief for his utility bill through the LRP. As a part of his application, he includes a copy of the B-permit.
• Department of Finance reviews Alejandro’s application and determines he qualifies for the LRP. The Department of Finance then reviews his account’s billing and usage history, and determines that his benefit amount is $3,000 ($2,000 - $1,000 = $1,000 per month, multiplied by 3 months). The Department of Finance applies a credit of $3,000 to his utility account.
• Alejandro can choose to leave this credit on his account and have it apply to pay future utility bills or he can apply for a refund.

• George owns and lives in a 2-flat and has been enrolled in the Utility Billing Relief (UBR) program for 2 years.
• George receives an unusually high bill and sees that it is due to his water usage being much higher than usual. He checks the interior of his property for leaks and fixtures wasting water, including his toilets to make sure they’re not running.
• Since George does not find any leaks or waste of water inside of his property and he knows his meter is located in an outdoor vault, he calls 311 to ask for the Department of Water Management to check for an outdoor leak.
• The Department of Water Management checks for leaks and locates a leak outside on George’s underground water service line, in between his meter vault and his building.
• The Department of Water Management replaces George’s lead service line under the Leaks and Breaks Lead Service Line Replacement program, which stops the leak.
• George applies for the LRP.
• The Department of Finance reviews George’s application and determines he meets the qualifications for the LRP.
• The Department of Finance then reviews the account to determine George’s benefit amount. They review the charges in George’s UBR temporary set-aside balance as well as the reduced-rate charges he’s been billed during his current and prior UBR program years to determine his benefit amount.  Any charges permanently forgiven are not reviewed, as those have already been forgiven.
• The Department of Finance calculates the benefit amount and applies it in the form of a credit to George’s account.