The Falls Water Board is preparing to return to turning off the water of Niagara Falls property owners who are behind on their bills.
Water Board Executive Director and General Counsel Sean Costello told board members at their Monday night meeting that service termination actions are expected to resume in the second quarter of this year, which begins April 1.
A state moratorium on water shutoffs, prompted by the Covid pandemic, is set to expire on Monday. The Falls Water Board, like others across New York, has seen its delinquencies skyrocket since the moratorium was instituted in 2019.
“Our delinquent accounts have gone from $1.2 million in 2019 to $3.5 million in 2024,” Costello told the water board members.
But with the state moratorium ending, Costello said water board staff determined that service terminations should resume as a way to begin collecting on that mountain of debt.
Water bills are currently sent out quarterly, with the most recent mailed on March 1. Costello said past-due notices would probably go out by mid-April.
If payments are not received after the past due notices are mailed, water board employees will place “door hanger” notices on a property giving the owner 48 hours to settle their bill.
After that, the water service would be terminated.
“Realistically, we probably wouldn’t be shutting off service before sometime in May,” Costello said in outlining the debt collection plans.
Board members raised no objections to the debt collection plan.