Every privilege that is granted and every duty that is required by Chapter 810 imposes an obligation on utilities, applicants, and customers to accept these privileges and perform these duties with good faith, honesty and fairness.

Throughout this booklet, the terms, "we" and "us" refer to the Portland Water District. The term "you" refers to the applicant or customer.

When you apply for service, we pledge to treat you fairly. As part of the process, you may be required to complete an application form or answer some questions before we accept you as a customer.

Without regard to race, sex, age, national origin, or marital status, we will either agree to provide the service you ask for or deny it within one (1) work day, in which case, we will send you the reason(s) in writing for denial and inform you of your options.

When you apply for service, we will tell you about the basic minimum service costs and about one-time costs, such as installation and activation fees. Our rates are approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. We cannot change these rates without the approval of the MPUC. You have the right to review and comment on our proposed rates before the MPUC approves or disapproves any changes.

When you apply for service, we will determine if you have had service with us before. If you have an unpaid bill that is less than six (6) years old, we will ask you to pay it or make a payment arrangement. We cannot require you to pay anyone else’s bills - only those bills in your name or bills which a court has ruled as your responsibility. If you dispute the old bill, or you are unable to settle on a reasonable payment plan, please refer to the "Complaint" section of this booklet.

We can require a security deposit for water service if there is proof that you may be a credit risk, that is, you may not pay your future bills. In most cases, proof that you will be a credit risk is shown if you have an unpaid bill when you apply for service, or you have been disconnected for nonpayment, unauthorized use, or theft of services. These are not all the situations in which we can require a deposit. You have the right to show us evidence that you can, and will, pay your future bills to avoid a deposit request.

We can require a deposit that is equal to your anticipated bills for two months.

You can usually choose to pay the
deposit in full or in three payments with half the total due immediately, 25% in thirty (30) days and 25% in sixty (60) days. However, we may demand full payment of a deposit if you are already using a payment plan to pay off an unpaid bill.

We will return your deposit, with interest, if you pay your bills on time for 12 consecutive months.

We will send you a bill each month – based on your actual water usage. However, there may be times when we will need to send you an estimated bill. We will not send you two estimated bills in a row, except during extreme weather conditions, emergencies, work stoppages or similar circumstances that would prevent our employees from reading your meter, or if you receive bills on a seasonal basis. If your meter is not accessible, we will leave a postcard so you can record the actual meter reading. If you send us this postcard promptly, we will then issue a bill based on your actual usage report.

If we have to issue a make-up bill for past service that you were not billed for, we will offer you a payment arrangement. If the reason for the make-up bill is our error (e.g., equipment failure or billing error), you will be billed for a maximum of one (1) year of past service, even if the billing error was for a longer period of time. If the make-up bill is due to fraud or unauthorized use, you may be billed up to a maximum of six (6) years for past service.

A record of your usage for the prior thirteen (13) months is published on your bill or you may obtain it by contacting our customer service center.

Let us know if you want another person to receive a copy of disconnection notices. We will send a copy to the person you designate, but you are still responsible for payment. This service may be especially important for our elderly, disabled, and handicapped customers.

Below are a few of the more common fees, above and beyond normal water and sewer usage, that you might incur.

New Meter Or Service Fee. If you request a new service, you’ll be assessed a $45 fee to review your application in addition to inspection and meter fees.

Reconnection Charges: During Business Hours: $39. Other Hours: $35 per hour with a minimum charge of $90.

You may pay your bill by mail, online, or in person at our office at 225 Douglass Street. If you mail your payment to us, your bill is considered paid on the day we receive it. If you pay at our office, your bill is considered paid on the day you make the payment. If you make a partial payment, we will apply it to the oldest, undisputed balance due.

We accept payment by cash, check, or money order. When a check is dishonored, a charge may be assessed to the accounts of any customer whose check is returned by the bank for insufficient funds. We will, upon request, furnish you with proof of bank charges above $5.00.

If you pay after the "due date" stated on the bill, we may charge a late fee.

PWD offers qualified residents discounted Lifeline rates and funds a low-income plumbing assistance program.

We will continue service, even if you can’t pay your account in full, as long as you pay a reasonable portion of your bill, and you agree to pay the rest in affordable weekly or monthly payments. You must also agree to pay all future bills within 30 days of the postmark date, until the overdue amount is paid in full.

We will consider the following issues when making a payment arrangement:

• Your ability to pay.

• Your previous payment history.

We will send you a written copy of the payment arrangement.

If you do not make payments according to a written payment arrangement, we may send you a disconnection notice that gives you three (3) business days to pay the full overdue amount. We are not required to make a second arrangement, but we will attempt to respond to your particular situation.

You do not have to agree to a payment arrangement, or any other proposed settlement of a dispute, if doing so means giving up other rights listed in this booklet or in Chapter 810 of the Public Utilities Commission Rules and Regulations.

We may need to interrupt your service, on occasion, to repair or maintain our equipment. When possible, we will let you know why and how long you can expect to be without service.

If we plan to interrupt service to more than ten customers or for more than 3 hours, we must give you at least 24 hours notice. We will give you more notice whenever possible. If your service must be interrupted without notice for more than 3 hours due to storms or other emergencies, we will immediately attempt to notify you and inform you how long you are likely to be without service.

Please promptly notify us if being without service would pose a danger to any member of your household. We will put you on a priority list to restore service as soon as possible.

We are not responsible for damage caused by discolored water, unsatisfactory water service resulting from the cleaning of pipes or storage facilities, or from the opening or closing of any valves or hydrants, unless the damage was caused by our negligence. We are also not responsible for meeting unusually high water quality standards for specialized or industrial customers.

You may apply for a pro rated reduction on your minimum bill if your service is interrupted for more than 48 hours through no fault of your own.

Please contact us for information about interrupted or unsatisfactory service.

We don’t want to disconnect your service. We will work with you to resolve any problems. However, if a customer refuses to cooperate, we have the right to start disconnection procedures if the customer

If you are a tenant and your landlord asks us to disconnect, or if your landlord does not pay the bill, you have the option of putting the service in your own name. You do not have to pay the landlord’s unpaid bill.

In most cases, we will notify you in writing at least 14 days before a stated disconnection date. But we are only required to give you three (3) working days notice if you have broken a payment plan, failed to pay a deposit, paid with a "bad" check, or received service without applying to become a customer. We can disconnect without notice only if there is unauthorized use (meter tampering) or a dangerous condition.

A disconnection notice is valid for ten (10) business days after the disconnection date stated. The ten (10) days may be extended if we are denied access to the meter or other device to turn off service.

The disconnection notice will tell you what to do to avoid disconnection and how you can dispute your bill or the disconnection itself.

We will not disconnect service for non-payment on a Friday, a weekend, a legal holiday, the day before a holiday or on any day our office is not open for business.

We may require seven days notice to disconnect your service. We can bill you for service during this period.

We will not disconnect service, or refuse to reconnect it, when you or someone in your house is seriously ill provided a registered physician confirms that an emergency exists that would be seriously aggravated by lack of service. If you cannot get a doctor to call right away, you may let us know yourself. We will wait three (3) work days for the doctor to call or write us. We can require written certification from the doctor, including specific reasons why service is necessary and how long the emergency will last. Disconnection can be postponed due to a medical emergency for up to 30 days and can be renewed up to 90 days.

A medical emergency does not cancel the bill; we will require you to make a reasonable payment arrangement.

If you refuse to enter into a payment arrangement as a condition of renewal of the certification or fail to comply with a payment arrangement, we can disconnect service only by obtaining an exemption from the MPUC.

If you have a question or complaint, please call us first. We have employees available during business hours to answer your questions, make payment arrangements, investigate your complaints, and resolve disputes.

PWD will consider claims for damages, except when the damage is beyond our control. Claim forms can be obtained on our web site or by calling our Customer Service Department at (207) 761-8310.

If you disagree with our decision, you have the right to appeal to the Consumer Assistance Division (CAD) of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, State House Station 18, Augusta, Maine 04333. You can call the CAD at (207) 287-3831 or toll-free at 1-800-452-4699. Before you call or write the Commission, you must give us a chance to respond to your complaint.

We cannot disconnect you for a disputed amount, but you do have to pay the portion of the bill that is not in dispute. If you contact us before the service is disconnected, and we cannot agree on a payment arrangement or other requirement to stop disconnection, you can appeal to the MPUC as described above.