Water Watch NYC

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Rate Hike AND Service Termination

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Hershel

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The NYC Water Board met this morning to approve the midyear rate hike OR service termination. In the end they chose to do both.

Here are some of the new measures the DEP now has regarding service termination:

  • The DEP is now only required to issue a notice of termination 15 days in advance.
  • The DEP is now allowed to terminate service for smaller amounts owed for shorter periods of time.
  • The Water Board reduced the amount of time that the DEP is prohibited from shutting off water due to the cold weather.
  • The time frame to issue complaints has been reduced.

Water Watch NYC’s opinion on this matter is that the Water Board is putting itself in a very precarious situation. With these new rules, it becomes too easy for an overzealous clerk to mistakenly order service termination on a squeaky clean account. What happens if a homeowner who always paid his $500-$600 dollar bills on time, all of a sudden gets a bill for $5,000-$6,000? He refuses to pay it because it’s obviously a mistake and three months later the DEP terminates his water service.

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Hello,

I’m Hershel

As President of Ashokan Water Services, Hershel has spent the last twenty years coordinating water conservation efforts for over 8,500 New York properties. In response to the North East droughts in the 1980’s, he formed Ashokan with a team of plumbers and engineers. Today Ashokan is a full-service water management company specializing in utility auditing, meter installation, meter reading, water conservation, backflow installation, and testing. Hershel focuses on managing Ashokan’s strategic planning and innovation process.

Hershel currently resides with his family in Brooklyn, New York, is an avid kayaker, and is an active blogger on water issues. He serves on The NYC Sustainability Advisory Board, the Mayor’s Green Codes Task Force, and many more. His personal goal is to minimize the effects of CSO and stormwater runoff within the Hudson River Estuary in order to create a positive impact on New York City’s environment.

For more information about Ashokan Water Services, please visit Ashokan’s website, which is listed below.

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