New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Carter Strickland and American Water Resources (AWR) President Malcolm D. Conner announced the launch of the water and sewer service line protection programs for residential properties throughout the five boroughs. Property owners in New York City are responsible for maintaining their water and sewer service lines, which are buried underground and run from a building to the city-owned mains under the street. On average, it costs property owners between $3,000 and $5,000 to repair a water line break and between $10,000 and $15,000 to repair a sewer line break in New York City. Homeowners may enroll in the program and pay a monthly fee to cover potential service line issues.
To help property owners better manage these risks and the high costs of service line breaks, the New York City Water Board issued a Request for Proposals from qualified providers for service line protection programs in 2012. After a thorough review, AWR was awarded a contract to administer the service line protection programs for roughly 670,000 eligible properties in New York City.
Water customers may participate in the service line protection programs at a present rate of $3.99 per month for water line protection and $7.99 per month for sewer line protection. For future years, the New York City Water Board will approve annual rates for the service line protection programs at the same time it adopts DEP water and sewer service charges. Customers who choose to join the programs may elect to protect both their water and sewer lines, or one or the other. They may also discontinue their involvement with the programs at any time if they no longer wish to participate.
Further information about the programs and how to join will be mailed to eligible property owners beginning today, and is available online at www.AWRUSA.com/NYC or by calling 888.300.3570.
Source: American Water Resources
