Auburn residents who have not paid their water bills will soon find their taps all dried up. And this time, city officials are serious about enforcing the rule.

City Manager Mark Palesh said Wednesday that the city is re-implementing a policy calling for water service to be shut off to residences with delinquent water bills. Homeowners who owe the city more than $20 in unpaid bills will be served a first notice. If the bill is not paid in 30 days, they will be given 10 more days to respond before the city shuts off the service.

The water policy is not new. The Auburn City Council passed the measure in August 2007, authorizing the shutoffs, and the city sent a first round of notices in October. The city council then requested that the policy be put on hold. Palesh said that when the city first tested the policy, a lot more people were affected than officials originally imagined. Now the city is getting tough, neighborhood by neighborhood, he said.

“We were trying to give people a little space to get acclimated to it, and now we are moving it forward,” Palesh said.

City Comptroller Lisa Green said that the city sent out 460 letters last month to the owners of residences with delinquent bills. Starting next week, those who have not paid will get their final, 10-day notices, Green said.

There are many delinquent water bills that reach in the thousands of dollars, she added. The city also charges a $50 fee for shutting off the water, and another $50 to turn it back on.

The city will alternate this process between its three billing districts, serving notices in a different district each quarter of the fiscal year, Green said. The goal for the new policy is to lower the number of delinquent bills.

Currently, unpaid water bills are added to the homeowner's property taxes.

“As time goes on, people will get used to the fact that we're going to do this,” Green said.

The first letters are sent directly to the homeowners, while final notices are posted at the residences and sent to the homeowner via certified mail.

Because of this, some tenants may not be aware of the status of their water bill until they receive their final, 10-day notices, Green said.

“Obviously, we don't want to shut anyone's water off,” said Green, who added that the charter dictates the city can only enforce a lien against the owner, not the resident. “The owner is ultimately responsible for payment.”

However, the city will accept payment from both owners and tenants, and Green is authorized to work with customers on an individual basis.

“If they can't pay it all at once, we will work with them,” Green said. “But all future bills will have to be paid on time.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net