Requesting a Water Bill Adjustment

NOTICE

Effective Aug. 1, 2019: DPW is partnering with the City's Environmental Control Board to provide an independent review of water bill charges. For the regulations governing this new billing review process Click here.

A property owner may request the Department of Public Works to review the billing account to determine if the account is eligible for an adjustment. 

Click here for the Water and Sewer Adjustment Request form or download and mail the request to DPW Customer Support and Services Division, 200 Holliday St., First Floor, Room 8, Baltimore, MD 21202.

ADJUSTMENT REQUEST REQUIREMENTS

  • Only the legal property owner or an authorized person designated by the property owner may request an adjustment.
  • Adjustment requests must be submitted within sixty (60) days of the bill being issued.
  • No more than two (2) consecutive bills are eligible for an adjustment for interior/situational usage or an underground leak.
  • No leak adjustments will be granted if the property has an active leak or the known leak has not been repaired.

ADJUSTMENT REQUEST TYPES

  • Interior/Situational Usage Adjustment:  This is for water loss typically associated with interior plumbing (e.g., appliances, interior fixtures, etc.) water loss in which the water loss returns to the sanitary sewer system. Property owners may only be granted an interior/situational usage adjustment at a property once every three (3) years. 
  • Underground Leak Adjustment:  This is for water loss typically associated with underground pipe ruptures in which the water loss does NOT return into the sanitary sewer system.    A receipt from a certified plumber is required to be submitted.  The receipt must contain the date of the repair, type of repair, and indicate repair was completed. If water consumption data is available, data must support repair receipts.  Property owners may only be granted an underground leak adjustment at a property once every two (2) years.

ADJUSTMENT TYPES NOT CONSIDERED

  • Theft or Vandalism:  Water loss due to theft or vandalism will not be considered for adjustment and is the property owner’s responsibility.

ADJUSTMENT REQUEST SUBMISSION

Adjustment requests must be submitted using the “Water and Sewer Adjustment Request” form and returned to the Department of Public Works Customer Support and Services Division.

Email:                [email protected]

Mail:                  DPW Customer Support and Services Division
                           200 Holliday St., Room 404
                           Baltimore, MD 21202

In-Person:       DPW Customer Support and Services Division
                          200 Holliday St., First Floor, Room 8
                          Baltimore, MD 21202

ADJUSTMENT CALCULATION

  • Interior/Situational Usage Adjustment:

This type of adjustment is limited to charges for WATER VOLUMETRIC CONSUMPTION ONLY.  
EXCEPTION:  To our most vulnerable property owners who are currently enrolled in our senior or hardship discount programs, an adjustment of the full overage of water usage is credited to the account.

Adjustment is calculated from the daily average consumption of water from the last billing period prior to the leak and is multiplied by the total days of service within the affected billing period.   Fifty percent (50%) of the additional water usage is deducted from the amount owed.

Example:

Daily Average Consumption (DAC):

.16 CCF/Day

Days in a billing period:

30 days

Average monthly consumption units:

5 CCF

Billed consumption units during affected billing period:

50 CCF

Difference between average bill CCF and affected bill CCF:

45 CCF (50 CCF – 5 CCF)

Adjustment (Non-Senior/Hardship Customer):

-22.5 CCF (50%: of overage: 45 CCF/2)

Adjustment (Senior/Hardship Customer)

-45 CCF (100% of overage)

 

  • Underground Leak Adjustment:

This type of adjustment is limited to charges for WATER AND SEWER VOLUMETRIC CONSUMPTION ONLY.

Adjustment is calculated from the Daily Average Consumption of water from the last billing period prior to the leak and is multiplied by the total days of service within the affected billing period.  The additional water and sewer volumetric charges are deducted from the amount owed.

ADJUSTMENT NOTIFICATION

If approved, the adjustment will appear on the water bill approximately 4 weeks after the request was received.

If an adjustment is NOT approved, the property owner will be notified as to the reason for the denial.