San Antonio Water System will begin disconnections this fall
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) just announced that they will be shutting off the water for customers that have unpaid current or past bills. The moratorium that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic is now coming to an end in October.
Customers who are enrolled in a payment plan will be excluded from service disconnection.
SAWS will be assessing late fees in August but there won’t be any retroactive assessments. SAWS has reported over 52,000 delinquent accounts as of June 2021.
“The goal for SAWS is not to cut people off”, stated Vice President of Communications and External Affairs Gavino Ramos. “It’s to put them on a payment plan so that we can help partner with them on paying back their bill.”
SAWS had began reaching out to delinquent customers directly as early as June. We learned that as of July 13th, only 80 customers have set up payment plans.
SAWS is directing customers to their website to setup a payment plan. There’s three plans; a three, six and nine-month payment plan that customers can choose to assist them in catching up.
If customers are struggling with their payments still, SAWS can put them in touch with state and city financial assistance to help them get back on track.