City of Saginaw to Resume Water Shutoffs for Noncompliant Customers

The City of Saginaw is resuming water shutoffs starting Monday, Nov. 8 for residents who fail to respond to notices requesting access to meters or service line inspection. The city’s announcement said staff has been having problems entering some homes to check meters or water lines, and many notices left on doors are being ignored. They said in order to maintain the system and compliance with the state’s lead service line replacement program, the city is resuming shutoffs for failure to comply with those notices. Customers will be notified 10 days prior to any shut off,  which will only occur after multiple attempts to contact them.

The city has paused water shutoffs for non-payment for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The only water shutoffs being done were due to a potential cross connection, emergency turn off due to broken pipes, and accounts that were requested to be closed and finalized. Currently, the city is not resuming shutoffs due to non-payment.

“The Maintenance and Service Division needs to be able to do its job. We need to be able to access meters for a multitude of reasons. When the homeowners do not respond and allow us into the homes to inspect meters and water lines, this is a potential liability for the city and could be very costly for the customer. I encourage any resident that receives one of these notices to contact our Maintenance and Service Division immediately” Phil Karwat, Director of Public Services.

For questions on the metering equipment notices, customers may contact Water Billing (989) 759-1450. Questions on lead water line replacement and verification should be directed to Maintenance and Service (989) 759-1639.