Delayed Water and Sewer Bills Frequently Asked Questions

A technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months. The problem was caused by certain transponders on water meters. The water meters were accurately reading the water usage, but the transponders were not sending that data electronically to our billing system. As a result, while these customers continued to receive water and sewer service, they did not receive bills for a period of time. We sincerely apologize to these customers for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have resolved the issue and are sending bills to customers for the water and sewer services they received. 

We have reassigned and added more staff to repair faulty water meter transponders, update accounts, and address customer concerns. We understand it may be challenging to pay the full amount at once. We are offering payment plans to all affected customers. Customers can visit sfpuc.gov/PaymentPlan or call (415) 554-3403 to sign up for a payment plan. A payment plan spreads the balance out over a series of months to make it easier to pay. Additionally, we are performing an internal review to ensure this does not happen again.

Customers whose bills were delayed are receiving letters and emails to inform them what happened. They are receiving updated bills reflecting the true balance for the water and sewer services that were provided. These customers will not be charged for the cost of repairing meters.

Some affected customers will receive an updated bill right away. Others will receive it this fall. Some of these bills will be estimated based on previous usage. Estimated bills will be checked against meter readings for accuracy, and bills will be adjusted when necessary.

We understand it may be challenging to pay the full amount at once. We are flexible. Customers will have the option to settle their balance with a one-time payment or to enroll in a payment plan. Payment plans allow customers to spread out payments over several months, making it easier to pay updated bills.

If customers are enrolled in Direct Payment autopay through the SFPUC, we will suspend automatic withdrawal for the first updated bill to prevent any inconvenience that debiting the full amount might cause. Please note, this only applies to the first updated bill. For subsequent bills, the full amount owed will be debited by autopay if the customer does not make any changes. 

Customers signed up for recurring payments through KUBRA or their financial institution should update their account preferences to avoid large debits.  Please make changes through your financial institution if you do not want the full amount withdrawn when you receive an updated bill. 

Payment plans allow customers to spread out payments over several months, making it easier to pay updated bills. Customers will not be charged any interest or late fees with payment plans. Payment plan installments will be due in addition to customers’ regular monthly bill and must be paid on or before the installment due date.

To enroll in a payment plan, customers can visit sfpuc.gov/PaymentPlan or call (415) 554-3403.

Until customers’ meters have been repaired, bills will be estimated based on averaging previous months’ usage. Once meters are repaired, adjustments will be made to ensure customers pay the correct amount. Please know that the meters recorded water usage accurately but were not sending that data to our billing system.

No, we are not. Your updated bill reflects the water and sewer services you received. You are not being charged for repair costs.

Customers with low incomes may be eligible to receive a 25% to 40% discount on their water and sewer bill through our Customer Assistance Program. Please apply online at sfpuc.gov/CAPwater.

Pre-existing programs are in place to help customers lower their bills. More information is available here: Save Money on Your Utility Bill (sfpuc.gov).

No. This issue will not affect customers’ account standing or cause a disruption to services.

No. Customers will not be charged any late fees for bills delayed due to this issue. Customers will not be charged any interest when they enroll in payment plans. Customers will not be charged any processing fees for payments through the KUBRA EZ-Pay system.

The affected customers received water and wastewater services without interruption during the unbilled period and are responsible for paying for services they used. The SFPUC is a not-for-profit public utility. We are required by law to charge our customers only the true and full cost of operating, maintaining, and upgrading our water and sewer systems. There are fixed costs for operating our systems. If we were allowed to not charge certain customers for water and sewer services they received, this would ultimately lead to higher rates for everyone.

About 4% of our customers.

Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.

A thorough review is underway. We have also adjusted billing procedures to send estimated bills in the event of equipment problems. Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system.