By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Effective Feb. 1, the city of Great Bend is making some changes to its water shut-off policy. After that date, any overdue water bills not paid on time will result in the disconnection of water services. Utilities Superintendent Reuben Martin explains the process.
"You get your water bill the first month it's due, then if you have not paid that by the second billing, you get the red card saying your water will be disconnected," he said. "By the point, you're technically over a month past due on your water bill. Once that happens, you get put on the shutoff list the next Tuesday."
The original bill comes on a blue card and gives customers approximately 28 days to pay the balance. If the balance is not paid, a red shutoff notice is included with the next month's blue card a few days later. The city gives customers an additional 7-10 days to pay the balance on the red card, with the due date always falling on a Monday. That Monday is now a hard deadline, which is the change in policy.
"If you got that card, if you paid online or went in, you could go all the way up until the time we were shutting the water off, or even during the day on Tuesday while the water's being shut off, you could call in or go up and pay it," Martin said. "We've stopped that now because it's causing a lot of extra work and confusion about which ones are getting paid, which ones aren't, who's getting charged for a shutoff, and who is not."
If payment is not made on Monday, the city will shut off the water to the residence at the meter. Shutoffs carry a $9 disconnect fee and a $16.50 reconnect fee for business hours, and a $28 fee for after-business hours. Online payments may still be made after business hours Monday evening. Unlike other utilities, water is not subject to certain customer protections.
"Gas and electricity, that's what it takes to keep your house warm and keep you safe," said Martin. "Water, we don't have any cold-weather protection. If you're on the shutoff list, you're going to get shutoff whether its two degrees or 80 degrees."