Q: Do you offer budget billing?
A: Budget billing does not promote conservation. A customer on budget billing may not realize that they have a leak or other water related problems at their property until the “true-up” period which could waste a great deal of water and money.
Q: My meter box is full of water. Do I have a leak?
A: Our meter reader’s responsibility is to read the meter and inform the County of any problems with the meter. They enter certain codes in their handheld computers when they read the meters and reports are generated from those codes. Based on the codes that are entered, we can either reread the meter or check for leaks, but because of the number of meters in the county, we can’t check each and every one that comes up on the list. The bills are generated within two to three days after the meter is read, so the customer is notified relatively quickly by the bill.
Q: Do you estimate water usage?
A: Most likely no. We attempt to read every meter every month. On the rare occasion that we estimate usage, it is because we were unable to read a meter. Reasons that a meter will not be read are, overgrown brush blocking access to the meter, cars parked over the meter box, or dangerous spiders or snakes in the meter box. It is the customer’s responsibility to make sure we have access to the meter at all times.
Q: I get paid at the beginning of the month. Can you change my billing cycle to coincide with my pay date?
A: We bill approximately 240,000 customers per month.Because we send out so many bills, we bill customers daily. We have the county split into portions. We read one or two portions per day and bill the next day. Your billing date is based on which portion you live in. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to manually change your billing cycle.
Q: I just got married/divorced. How can I get my account to reflect my new name?
A: We will need a copy of the marriage certificate/divorce decree. You may fax this to us at 678.376.6838 or bring it into our office at 684 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. It may take one or two billing cycles to reflect the change. This change will not affect your balance or account number. No activation fee will apply.
Q: I just got divorced or am recently widowed. How can I get my account out of my (ex-) spouse’s name and into mine?
A: We will need a copy of the divorce decree/death certificate. You may fax this to us at 678.376.6838 or bring it into our office at 684 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. Changing the account holder from an ex-spouse’s name will require opening a new account in your name. This will require that open balances on the ex-spouse’s account be paid or transferred to the new account. This change will require a new account number. No activation fee will apply.
Q: My bill seems really high. What should I do?
A: First, look at the consumption on your bill. A report of consumption is located on your invoice in the lower left hand quadrant. If your consumption is substantially higher than last month’s consumption, and/or the consumption from one year ago, you may have had an unusual amount of water coming through your meter.
SAMPLE |
| Usage History | Billing Days | Consumption | |
| Current Month | 28 | 24.4 | Consumption is shown in 1,000 gallons. So, 5.1 is 5,100 gallons of water |
| Last Month | 32 | 5.1 |
| One Year Ago | 32 | 4.0 | |
Sometimes habits change depending on the season. For instance, in summer, families start watering the yard, fill pools, pressure wash the home in preparation to paint, have college children home from school, etc. During the winter months, out-of-town family visits may cause more water consumption than normal. If you cannot determine unusual water usage in your household, you may have a leak.
Q: How do I check for leaks?
A: Ways to check for a leak include: the one-hour leak test, and the toilet-leak test.
To perform a one-hour leak test:
- Assure that no water is running in the house (check the washing machine, dishwasher, ice maker, toilets, etc.)
- Go to your water meter and remove the main lid (covering the hole in which the meter is placed)
- Write down the meter number to the meter you are checking. The meter number can be found on the small round metal lid that covers the glass of your meter. You can check this number against your invoice to assure you are looking at the correct meter
On the face of the meter, there is a row of numbers. Also record at what number the gallon-indicator is pointing. Read and record the first five digits from left to right, including zeros. The decimal point goes between the fourth and fifth digits- Are the numbers moving? Is the gallon-indicator hand sweeping? Is the leak-indicator spinning? If yes, and you have checked to see that no water in on in the house, you may have a leak
- If you do not see any indication of movement in the numbers, the gallons-indicator, or the leak-indicator, then wait an hour or two. Be sure to use no water during this time
- Compare the meter readings now to the readings you wrote down. Any changes could indicate a leak
To check your toilets for leaks or a faulty flapper valve:
Continuously running toilets can be a silent culprit, and one that may not be caught by performing the one-hour leak test (above). Check the overflow pipes in the toilet tanks to be sure the water isn’t draining. Place food coloring in the back of each toilet (tank), and wait 20 to 40 minutes. Do not flush or use the toilet during this time. After 20-40 minutes, check the toilets to see if any coloring has run into the bowl. If the coloring has leaked into the bowl, then this can be an indication that your flapper valve is faulty and may need to be replaced.
Q: Do you offer leak adjustments?
A: Gwinnett County does not provide lost water adjustments to customer accounts for water lost as the result of a leak. We encourage customers to do their part to reduce lost water by fixing leaks in a timely manner; this will ultimately lower their water bills.
Q: Does Gwinnett County offer adjustments on sewer charges for filling of a swimming pool?
A: No, Gwinnett County does not offer any adjustments for consumption charges related to pool fills. The reason we do not is that there is not an accurate method to determine the amount of water used in filling the pool or the sewer usage for the billing period, therefore, in an effort to be fair and keep rates as low as possible for all customers, we must bill for all water and sewer that passes through the meter. Customers may purchase and install an irrigation meter to avoid sewer consumption charges. For further information please contact 678.376.6800.
