Atlanta Councilman proposes refund program for overpaid water bills
Atlantans with overpaid water bills might receive refunds from legislation proposed by City Councilman Alex Wan.
Wan’s resolution would use money from the city’s Water & Wastewater Revenue Fund, among other funds, to reimburse customers of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management.
The resolution mentions an additional document will be provided to quantify which customers will get refunds. The range of the refunds was also left blank. The resolution was referred to the council’s Finance/Executive Committee — which is chaired by Wan. The committee’s next meeting is Jan. 25.
At the same time, Atlanta’s Watershed Management department is currently shutting off water services for people with delinquent bills. Watershed Commissioner Mikita Browning said the cut offs will affect 27,000 customers. The city hasn’t performed cut offs for single families since roughly 2010, Browning said.
According to city officials, Atlanta had $121 million in uncollected water charges as of September 2022. Meanwhile, the city is working with Georgia to obtain federal funds to assist families with burdensome water bills through the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.
About the Author
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
