RADIO-READ WATER METER READING SYSTEM

The Bartow County Water Department recently completed a Radio-Read Water Meter Replacement Program that replaced all manual-read water meters throughout the Bartow County Water System (over 20,000 meters) with Radio-Read Water Meters along with their associated transmitters, receivers and hardware/software applications from Badger Meter, Incorporated® headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The implementation of this Radio-Read Water Meter Replacement Program has provided the Bartow County Water Department and our valued Customers with numerous operational and financial benefits including: precise meter readings and billing accuracy; expedition of meter reading and billing cycle processes; reduction in water meter replacement frequency; prompt recognition and detection of waterline service leaks; enhancement of employee and public safety during our meter reading processes; and the establishment of a consistent cash flow that will provide our department with greater operational flexibility and results in the highest possible quality of customer and community services. To learn how these Radio-Read Meters measure water consumption, please select the following link: How Do Radio-Read Meters Work? If you have any questions regarding your Radio-Read Water Meter and/or billing accuracy, please contact our main administrative office during regular business hours (Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

BILLING RATES & METER READING PROCEDURES

Bartow County Water Department Utility Service Bills are printed and mailed on (or around) the 15th or at the end of each month depending upon the applicable Service Location Billing Cycle Period with Payment Billing Due Dates assigned for the 1st and 15th of the subsequent month, respectively. Note: Customers that have not received their Utility Service Bills within five (5) working days of their assigned Payment Billing Date should contact our main administrative office immediately @ (770) 387-5170 for account information! Failure to receive Bartow County Water Department Utility Service Bills does not relieve our customers from their payment obligations! Bartow County Water Department Billing Rates are determined by several utility service criteria including Water Meter Size, Total Monthly Water Consumption, Customer Classification and applicable Utility System Services. Bartow County Department Utility Service Bills are calculated from the total water consumption and wastewater disposal (equivalent to water consumption for Sewer System Customers) that has occurred within a Monthly Billing Cycle Period and are comprised of a "Minimum Monthly Billing Base Rate" and "Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rate" as indicated within the following Bartow County Water & Sewer System Billing Rate Tables.  Note:  Utility Service Billing begins immediately upon the date of Water Meter/Sewer Tap Installation!

2010 Billing Rates, Policies and System Information Brochure (English Version)

2010 Billing Rates, Policies and System Information Brochure (Spanish Version)

Water Conservation Surcharges impose incremental Water Service Billing Rates for increasing levels of water consumption. The State of Georgia has mandated all water service utility providers to develop and implement a Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rate Table to encourage water conservation. The Unit Surcharge Method establishes an "excessive" water usage threshold level based upon analysis of system-wide water customer consumption averages. Bartow County Water Department Customers that exceed 5,000 Gallons of water consumption within a Monthly Billing Cycle Period will pay Water Conservation Surcharges based upon the following Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rate Table. Note: The following Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rates were established through comprehensive analysis of ALL Bartow County Water System Customer Classifications and monthly water consumption totals!

BARTOW COUNTY WATER DEPARTMENT UTILITY SERVICE BILL DETAILS
 

A) Service Account#: The Customer Account Number that has been assigned to the applicable Utility Service Location Address within our Utility Billing System.
B) Service Address: The Utility Service Location Address for which the applicable Utility Billing Service Charges apply.
C) Current Balance/Total Balance Due: The Current Account Balance of the applicable Utility Service Location Address for the Current Utility Billing Period.
D) Payment Due Date: The calendar date when complete payment of Current Account Balance is due. If complete payment of the Current Account Balance has not been submitted on or prior to the Payment Due Date, a 10% Late Fee Penalty shall be applied to the Customer Account Balance and the amount indicated adjacent to Balance After Due Date shall become the updated Customer Account Balance.
E) Balance After Due Date:  The Customer Account Balance owed if complete payment of the Current Account Balance has not been submitted on or prior to the Payment Due Date.
F) Previous Date: The calendar date that the Water Meter providing water service to the applicable Utility Service Location Address was previously read at the end of the Prior Utility Billing Period.
G) Current Date: The calendar date that the Water Meter providing water service to the applicable Utility Service Location Address was read at the end of the Current Utility Billing Period.
H) Previous Read: The reading of the Water Meter providing water service to the applicable Utility Service Location Address at the end of the Prior Utility Billing Period.
I) Current Read: The reading of the Water Meter providing water service to the applicable Utility Service Location Address at the end of the Current Utility Billing Period.
J) Consumption (1,000 Gallons): The total Water Consumption measured in 1,000-Gallon increments that has occurred from the end of the Prior Utility Billing Period to the Current Utility Billing Period.
K) Water Service Total: The total Utility Billing Charges applicable to Water Utility Service that has occurred from the end of the Prior Utility Billing Period to the Current Utility Billing Period. (Note: Please see the Bartow County Water & Sewer System Minimum Monthly Billing & Base Rate and Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rate Tables above for an explanation of Utility Billing Charges.)
L) Sewer Service Total: The total Utility Billing Charges applicable to Sewer Utility Service that has occurred from the end of the Prior Utility Billing Period to the Current Utility Billing Period. (Note: Please see the Bartow County Water & Sewer System Minimum Monthly Billing & Base Rate and Water Conservation Surcharge Billing Rate Tables above for an explanation of Utility Billing Charges.)
M) Penalty Total: The total Late Fee Penalties that have been applied to the Customer Account Balance during the Current Utility Billing Period.

WATER & SEWER MONTHLY UTILITY SERVICE BILLING CHARTS

(The following Utility Service Billing Charts are saved in .xls format and are compatible with Microsoft Excel®)

COMMERCIAL FIRE LINE METERS

Commercial Fire Line Detector Meters are billed at a rate of $39.40/1,000 gallons of water consumption (10 times the standard “Base Rate”), but a Minimum Monthly Billing Charge is not applied to these particular accounts. Fire Line Detector Meters are subject, however, to a $715.00 Tap Fee and an Inspection Fee based upon the greater amount of either: A) 2% of Meter Installation Cost or B) A $175.00 minimum Inspection Service Charge.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

Bartow County Water Department Utility Service Payments can be delivered to our main administrative office or drive-thru window located @ 50 Nelson Street; Cartersville, Georgia 30120 during regular business hours (Office: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Drive Thru: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), placed inside our drive-thru deposit box 24 hours/7 days per week, or mailed to the following address: Bartow County Water Department; P.O. Box 850; Cartersville, GA 30120; or withdrawn automatically from customer checking accounts through Automatic Bank Drafts (Please see the "AUTOMATIC BANK DRAFT PAYMENTS" section below for information regarding this service).  Note: Please do not mail cash payments! MasterCard®, Visa® or DiscoverCard® debit and credit card payments are accepted inside our main administrative office during regular business hours, but will not be processed over the telephone! Bartow County Department Utility Service Payments can also be submitted using our Online Payment System which can be accessed by selecting the following "PAY BILL ONLINE" link:

Note: An Online Payment Convenience Fee of $1.00 shall be applied to each Online Payment transaction at the time of payment authorization. Customers paying their Utility Service Bills through an individual online bank checking service (automatic bank draft) should allow a minimum of (7) days for our department to receive these payments. Utility Service Payments received after 2:00 p.m. will be processed the following business day with the exception of those payments received on assigned Utility Billing Due Dates. Note: To expedite payment processing when submitting your Utility Service Payments at our main administrative office, please provide our Utility Billing Personnel with both attachments of your Utility Service Bill. Customers concerned about the monetary charges and/or water consumption totals printed upon their Utility Service Bill should report their meters readings to our department immediately for Service Account Transaction/Meter Reading verification. Note: In the event our department identifies a potential water service leak or experiences other difficulties while reading a water meter, a green pamphlet shall be provided to the Serviced Customer indicating all problems that were encountered. Upon obtaining your meter reading, please observe the red protruding water-flow indicator located adjacent to the meter dial. Movement of this device while all available water outlets within the Service Location are closed indicates the presence of a water leak that should immediately be reported to and repaired by a Licensed Plumber. Note: Customers are solely responsible for water consumption charges and service line repairs pertaining to water leaks that occur between their water meter and Service Location!

BARTOW COUNTY WATER DEPARTMENT

AUTOMATIC BANK DRAFT PAYMENTS

Bartow County Water Department Customers now have the option of submitting their Utility Service Bill Payments through Automatic Bank Drafts. Customers must submit a voided check and provide written consent to our department by completing an ACH Drafts Authorization Form to establish this service. Once an Automatic Bank Draft profile has been created, customers will have their Utility Service Bill withdrawn automatically from their designated checking account on their Utility Billing Due Date. Please contact our main office @ (770) 387-5170 for additional information regarding this service.

BILLING PENALTIES

Late Fee - A Late Fee equivalent to 10% of Water and/or Sewer Service Charges calculated during the previous Utility Billing cycle plus any additional previously unpaid balances is assessed to Utility Service Bills that remain unpaid by their assigned Billing Due Date. Note: Payment balances for overdue Utility Service Bills are printed adjacent to the "Amount After Due Date" field upon all Utility Service Bills.

Reconnection Fee - Bartow County Water Department Customers have ten (10) calendar days to pay the entire Account Balance of their Utility Service Bill following their assigned Billing Due Date, including associated Late Charges, before a Non-Payment Service Disconnection Order will be issued for their Service Location. Nonpayment of Utility Service Bills for thirty (30) days after the original Due Date will allow the County to terminate a Customer's Water Users Agreement (Water Users Agreement, Section 11C). As a courtesy, our department notifies Customers with overdue balances through our B.E.N. (Better Easier Notification) PhoneMaster Audio System® within a few days prior to the Non-Payment Service Disconnection period. Note: Failure to receive payment reminder messages does not exclude delinquent customers from Non-Payment Service Disconnection procedures! Our Non-Payment Service Disconnection Policy is detailed upon the reverse side of all Utility Service Bills! Serviced Accounts that remain delinquent at the completion of this Non-Payment Service Disconnection period may have their water meters locked and Service Locations tagged with a red Non-Payment Disconnection door-hanger. Service restoration after Non-Payment Service Disconnection procedures have occurred requires a complete cash/certified funds payment of the Account Balance, associated Late Charges and a Service Reconnection Fee ($25.00 before 4:00 p.m./$40.00 after 4:00 p.m.). Note: Once a Non-Payment Service Disconnection Order has bee issued for a serviced account, regardless whether or not actual Non-Payment Service Disconnection procedures have occurred, the customer is responsible for payment of a Service Reconnection Fee without exception! The latest time that our department will restore service to an account disconnect for non-payment of the Account Balance is 8:00 p.m. Meter Readers and Maintenance Personnel are not allowed to collect Utility Service Payments under any circumstances!

Returned Check Fee - Bartow County Water Department Customers whose personal or business checks have been returned to our main administrative office from a banking institution due to insufficient funds, omitted signatures, or for other reasons are assessed a $30.00 Returned Check Fee and are promptly mailed a "Returned Check Statement" from our department. These customers should immediately collect their Returned Check from our main administrative office @ 50 Nelson Street; Cartersville, GA 30120 and submit a cash-only payment for the Service Account to avoid Non-Payment Service Disconnection procedures which will be scheduled for ten (10) days after said check has been returned to our department unless the required payment has been submitted within this period! Note: Customers that have submitted a total of two (2) Returned Checks will be required to make cash-only payments for a minimum period of one (1) year.

Tampering Fee – Bartow County Water System Tampering Fees are detailed within "Title I. Water Service; Section 2 Interference with County Property Prohibited" of the Bartow County Water Service & Conservation Ordinance adopted December 17, 2003 which states as follows:

WATER LEAK ADJUSTMENTS

Bartow County Water Department Customers are occasionally affected with waterline leaks at their Service Locations that periodically result in temporary service outages, costly plumbing repairs and substantial Utility Service Bill consumption charges. Our department will perform one (1) Water Leak Adjustment within a 12-month period for Residential Customers experiencing a waterline service leak that produces a minimum water consumption of 15,000 Gallons within the current Monthly Billing Cycle Period that can provide our department with proper documentation of all associated plumbing supply purchases and labor charges. Note: The current Water Service Leak Adjustment Billing Rate is $2.75 per 1,000 Gallons and does not apply to Non-Residential (Commercial, Industrial, Irrigation and Agricultural) Water Customers or personal pools. {Example: A Residential Water Customer receives a Utility Service Bill with 50,000 Gallons of water consumption and $326.59 in service charges resulting from a waterline service leak. Our department will adjust this Utility Service Bill to a new service charge total of $137.50 (50,000 Gallons x $2.75/1,000 Gallons) once this Customer has presented the required plumbing repair documentation}.

PLEASE CONTACT OUR MAIN OFFICE @ (770) 387-5170 TO REPORT A PROBLEM WITH YOUR WATER AND/OR SEWER SERVICE. EMERGENCY SERVICE CALLS SUBMITTED TO OUR DEPARTMENT AFTER REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS AND ON HOLIDAYS WILL BE PROCESSED BY OUR ON-CALL SERVICE PROVIDER: PROCORE SOLUTIONS®.

{Website Designed By : Mr. Michael Yancey, Bartow County Water Department MIS/Administrative Assistant}