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No deduction shall be made or rebate allowed to any consumer of water under meter control by or on account of any leakage or alleged leakage in any water pipe, tank or other apparatus or device. The amount of water registered by any meter controlling the water supply to any building, structure or premises, shall be charged and paid for in full, irrespective of whether such water, after having been registered, was lost by leakage, accident or otherwise, except registration of fire meters occasioned by a fire or by evaporation as hereinbefore provided.
(Prior code § 185-42)
(a) Title. This section shall be known and cited as the Leak Relief Pilot Program.
(b) Purpose. The Leak Relief Pilot Program is intended to address unexpected City water and sewer bills for customers whose properties experience underground water leaks on their metered water service line.
(c) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
“Basis period” means either the 12-month period before the leak started or the 6-month period after the leak was repaired. If these time periods are not representative of the average amount of water supplied to the property for which relief is sought, then the basis period will be timeframe determined by the Department of Finance after review of the account and any relevant documentation.
“Comptroller” means the Comptroller of the City of Chicago, or the Comptroller’s designee.
“Eligible leak” means a leak on a property owner’s water service line where:
(1) the water service line is controlled by a meter located outside of the property; and
(2) the leak is located on the water service line underground between the meter and the property; and
(3) the leak impacted the property owner’s utility bill; and
(4) the Department of Water Management has confirmed the location of the leak; and
(5) the leak was repaired on or after January 1, 2023.
“Eligible leak period” means the period when the Eligible Leak impacted the property owner’s utility bill as determined by the Department of Finance.
“LRP” means the Leak Relief Pilot Program created by this section.
“Participant” means a participant in the LRP.
“Property owner” means the owner of a single family, two-unit, or three-unit residence, or a commercial property with a water service line of 1 inch in size or less, located in the City of Chicago.
(d) Eligibility. A property owner may become a participant in the LRP if:
(1) the property owner applies to the Comptroller to become a participant; and
(2) the water service line serving the property has experienced an eligible leak; and
(3) a property owner has never been granted relief under the LRP for the property in question.
The Comptroller may require the property owner to provide all documents which may be reasonably needed to support a property owner’s eligibility for the LRP as a part of the application for relief.
(e) Determination of relief. After acceptance and enrollment in the LRP, the Department of Finance shall:
(1) review the billing history of the participant;
(2) review the history of water passing through the meter at the participant’s property, and any other relevant information, to determine which service periods were likely impacted by the eligible leak;
(3) calculate the average amount of water passing through the meter during the basis period;
(4) provide a credit adjustment to reduce the amount of the charges for service during the eligible leak period to an estimated amount based on the average amount of water passing through the meter during the basis period. If the basis period average is higher than the eligible leak period average, then no adjustment shall be applied.
(f) Rules. The Comptroller is authorized to adopt such rules as the Comptroller may deem necessary for the proper implementation, administration, and enforcement of this section.
(g) Property interest. The LRP is created in the City’s sole discretion, and participation in the program and any benefits that result from the program are not intended to create a property interest in any participant or in any individual eligible for the program.
(h) Expiration. This section shall expire and be repealed of its own accord, without further action by the City Council, on December 31, 2026.
(Added Coun. J. 5-22-24, p. 11628, § 1)
Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3, repealed former § 11-12-470, which pertained to cash refunds. Coun. J. 11-16-16, p. 37901, Art. IV, § 4, reaffirmed the repeal of this section. For the original repeal, see Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 5, § 5.
Whenever a payment is made for charges on a unified statement of charges and such payment does not cover the full amount of the current charges or any unpaid charges from a prior unified statement of charges, any amount paid shall be allocated pro-rata among the unpaid charges, including any associated penalties, oldest statements first. For purposes of this Section 11-12-480, the term "charges" shall include the Chicago Water and Sewer Tax imposed by Chapter 3-80 of this Code.
(Prior code § 185-44; Amend Coun. J. 3-28-01, p. 55444, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 5-2-01, p. 57409, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-16-16, p. 19439, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-16, p. 29720, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-22, p. 50569, § 4)
(a) Upon the Department's termination of nonmetered water service to any building, structure, or premises, the charges for water service shall be prorated through the date of such termination, and no new charges for water service shall be assessed unless and until water service is restored. A temporary disconnection, such as a disconnection in order to perform necessary repairs or maintenance of water mains or other infrastructure, or in an emergency to allow the property owner to make repairs to the property's plumbing infrastructure, shall not be considered a termination of nonmetered water service.
(b) Assessment of charges shall resume on the date of the restoration of service.
(c) When water service has been restored without authorization of the Commissioner, and no date of restoration can be determined, charges for water service shall resume and shall be charged back to the date of shut-off.
(d) This section shall not be construed to suspend any penalties or fines on any past due amounts.
(Added Coun. J. 11-26-19, p. 11514, Art. V, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-24-20, p. 24619, Art. IV, Ch. 1, § 1)
Editor’s note – Pursuant to Coun. J. 11-26-19, p. 11514, Art. XV, this section shall take effect on January 1, 2021.
(a) No person, unless acting under the direction of the commissioner, shall reconnect or turn back on any water supply which has been shut off or withheld by the department. The owner of the building, structure or premises for which the water is supplied, the person in possession, charge or control thereof and any person who reconnects or turns back on the water supply, shall be subject to a $500.00 fee imposed by the department of water management.
(b) Any person against whom the department imposes a $500.00 fee pursuant to subsection (a) shall have a right to a hearing to contest the fee, if he or she files a written demand for a hearing within 14 days from the date of notice served by the department assessing the fee. Notice may be served in person or by first class mail. The date of the notice shall be the date notice is delivered, if served in person, or the date notice is deposited in the mail, if served by first class mail. A hearing shall be conducted by the department of administrative hearings within 14 days of receipt of a written demand for a hearing, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties. Failure to request or attend a scheduled hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to a hearing. A hearing held pursuant to this section shall not determine or otherwise adjudicate liability for any unpaid water rates or charges related to the department's order to shut off or withhold the water supply which was reconnected or turned back on improperly.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting the department from collecting any cost and expenses incurred as a result of the unauthorized use of the water supply reconnected in violation of this section and also any unpaid water rates, as provided by other applicable law.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-01, p. 55444, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 205)
On or before April 1 of each year, the Commissioner and Comptroller shall submit a report to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations concerning water shutoffs conducted pursuant to Section 11-12-015 during the prior calendar year. The report shall indicate the number of shutoffs by category of shutoff as authorized pursuant to Section 11-12-015. The report shall also indicate the total dollar amount of arrears for each of the following property classifications:
(a) Single-family dwellings;
(b) Two-unit residential structures;
(c) Three-unit residential structures;
(d) Four-unit residential structures;
(e) Five-unit residential structures;
(f) Six to 12 unit residential structures;
(g) More than 12 unit residential structures;
(h) Combination of residential and commercial structures;
(i) Commercial structures;
(j) Industrial structures.
The report shall also indicate, for each type of property classification listed above, (1) the number of metered and non-metered accounts that were shutoff; (2) the number of meters installed by the City on previously unmetered properties; and (3) the number of water accounts in arrears and dollar value in arrears at 30, 60, 90, 180, and 365+ days past due. The report shall also evaluate the Utility Billing Relief program's effectiveness in achieving its stated purpose, including by indicating the number of applicants for the program and the number of accounts enrolled in the program. The Commissioner or the Comptroller shall publish the report on the City website in a manner accessible for public review. When applicable, the report shall categorize the information by ZIP Code.
(Added Coun. J. 6-6-01, p. 59086, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 5, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 9; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-22, p. 50569, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 12-16-24, p. 22879, Art. I, § 2)
Editor's note – Coun. J. 6-6-01, p. 59086, § 1, provided for inclusion of this new section, to be numbered as § 11-12-485. Because that section already existed, this section has been added as § 11-12-486 at the discretion of the editor.
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