Customer Service Frequently Asked Questions
The following information is current as of 12/23/09 and is subject to change without any notice.
Please Note: A PDF of these Frequently Asked Questions can be found at the bottom of this page.
Q: How often will I be billed?
A: CCWA customers are billed monthly.
Q: What is the minimum bill?
A: For Water Only (for customers with septic tanks):
The minimum bill for water only is based on 3,000 gallons and billed at the rate of $4.32 or $12.96 per month.
For Water and Sewer:
The minimum water and sewer bill is $26.34 with the sewer bill rate at 3,000 gallons at $4.46 or $13.38.
All customers are billed a monthly Storm Water fee. Residential customers are billed $3.75 each month. Non-residential properties are billed based on the actual amount of impervious surface on their property. Visit the Storm Water section of our web site for more details.
Q: How much is the deposit for new service?
A: The deposit for a water only account is $80.00. The deposit for a water and sewer account is $160.00. If the customer maintains a good payment history for 2 years, or 24 months of service, the customers’ deposit will be refunded.
Q: What determines a good pay record?
A: CCWA defines a good record of pay as an account with no more than two (2) late fees charged within the latest 24 month period. There should be no returned checks or disconnection of service for failure to pay the monthly bill.
Q: Do I need to be at home to have my new water service connected?
A: CCWA customers do not have to be at home for their water service to be connected. A Field Representative will come to your home and connect your service at the water meter. However, you need to turn off everything (such as water faucets, etc.) that uses water prior to your new service being connected. If anything that uses water is left on, the water meter dials will be turning indicating that something has been left on that uses water. The CCWA Field Representative will not leave the water meter on and will leave a door tag for the customer to contact our Customer Service.
Q: What forms of payment do you accept? Can I make payments over the phone?
A: We accept cash, check and money order with no fee. We also accept debit cards, Master Card, Visa, American Express and Discover over the phone through a third party service provided by Paymentus. Paymentus charges a fee of $2.75 for this service. The toll free phone number to make payments is 1.877.822.9198.
Q: Where are your Customer Service locations?
A: We provide two convenient locations for customer transactions. Our Headquarters building is located at 1600 Battle Creek Road, Morrow, GA 30260. We also have a satellite office at 526 Forest Parkway, Suite A, Forest Park, GA 30297. All customer service transactions (including establishing new service or reconnecting service) can be handled at either location from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Q: What documents are acceptable forms of identification to establish new service?
A: All new services require a landlord lease agreement, real estate broker firm lease agreement or settlement statement. We also require photo identification.
Q: How long does it take to establish service if I walk into either of your locations?
A: Please allow for 10-15 minutes for us to process your application for service. During this time, a Customer Service Representative will need your completed application, a form of picture identification, social security number, proof that you own or are leasing the property, and the appropriate deposit for service. For new Clayton County Water Authority customers with two names on their lease or settlement statement, both social security numbers will be required for new service. One person can come in to start service, but they will have to provide ID and social security numbers for both parties. Your information will then be entered into our system and a work order will be processed to connect your service the next business day. If you are applying for new service via fax, please return the completed and signed Application for Service and Service Agreement to 770.960.5894. It will take 3 -5 business days to process any New Service Agreements that are faxed or emailed to Customer Service. If you have any questions regarding new service, please call 770.960.3606.
Q: I paid a deposit for new service today, so why can’t I have my service connected today?
A: CCWA establishes new service accounts by dispatching a field representative to your residence or business to obtain a reading of your meter. CCWA must coordinate the service request schedules of all customers. In order to meet all new service requests, we need one (1) business day from the time of the request to connect your service.
Q: Why am I charged a $20 new service fee to establish service?
A: The new service fee is a “one time” charge which covers costs associated with sending a field representative to your residence or business for reading and/or connecting service.
Q: Why can’t I just be billed for water service only and not water and sewer service?
A: The type of service received from CCWA is determined by whether your home is on a septic system or the county’s water/sewer system. If your home is on a septic system, then CCWA supplies your residence or business with “water only”. If your residence or business is connected to the water/sewer system, then we provide both “water and sewer,” for which both services are billed.
Q: What date should I use as the due date to pay my water bill?
A: CCWA bills are to be paid by the “Due Date” listed on the return portion of your bill. If there is a previous balance on the account, this amount is reflected at the top of the bill (underneath the account address). To the right of the “Previous Balance,” you will find a disconnection date. If the “Previous Balance” is not paid by the disconnection date, the water service will be turned off and a reconnection fee totaling the outstanding balance for the account must be paid before service is reconnected.
Q: My water service was disconnected due to non-payment on my account. Can I turn the water back on myself?
A: No. CCWA requires that once service has been disconnected due to non-payment, the customer must pay the outstanding balance on the account, including disconnect and reconnect fees. The forms of payments accepted are cash, debit or credit cards. Checks are not accepted for this type of service. Any one caught tampering with a CCWA water meter will be fined $500 per incident for a single family residential account and $1,500 per incident for a multi-family or commercial account.
Q: Do you give discounts to Senior Citizens?
A: In order to assist our Senior Citizens (those who are age 62 or older) who may be on fixed incomes, CCWA has put in place a policy to bill our identified Senior Citizens on the 30th of the month. This billing date is scheduled to coincide with retirement or other sources of income they may receive around the first of every month. To be placed on our Senior Citizens billing plan, you need to come into one of our two Customer Service locations and provide identification. One of our Customer Service Representatives will then be able to enroll you in our Senior Citizens plan.
Q: I had or have a water leak and didn’t use the water. Why do I have to pay for this water?
A: CCWA requires that all water meters be read every month and that each account be updated with the reading for the month. If the residence or business has experienced a water leak, it is up to the residence or business to repair the leak. Once the leak has been repaired, the customer can bring a Customer Service Representative a receipt of supplies or services completed to fix the leak. At that time, CCWA will review the account and determine if a credit adjustment is appropriate. There are significant costs in producing clean water and delivering it on a continuous basis to your home or business, therefore, any water that passes through your meter must be paid for.
Q: What is the storm water fee on my bill for and how was it determined?
A: CCWA developed a Storm Water Management Utility at the request of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners and the six cities of Clayton County to address storm water pollution, flooding and maintenance of the storm water infrastructure. This monthly fee began in 2007 shortly before CCWA tok responsibility for all storm water related management and maintenance activities from the County and Cities. The fee is based on the amount of imperious surface on a property (rooftops, parking lots, driveways, etc.) that does not allow rainfall to penetrate into the ground, but instead causes it to runoff into our streams and rivers. Single family residential properties are billed a flat rate of $3.75 per month, while non-residential properties are billed based on the actual amount of impervious surface on their property. Please refer to the Storm Water Section of our Web site for more information about this fee.
If you have additional questions, please call the CCWA's Customer Call Center at 770.961.2130, then press "2".
Click here to download a copy of the Frequently Asked Questions listed above (PDF)