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Lisbon has its hand on the tap

LISBON — Time is running out for delinquent water customers who want to avoid having their service shut off.

Last month, the village Board of Public Affairs announced they were going to extend the shutoff moratorium enacted in March by Gov. Mike DeWine due the economic repercussions from the COVID-19 virus. DeWine let the moratorium expire on July 10, but the BPA extended it until Aug. 10 to give Lisbon customers more time to clear up their delinquencies.

BPA chairman Bill Hoover, speaking after Tuesday’s meeting, said that water customers wanting to pay off their delinquencies in full by Aug. 10 or enter into a payment plan have until Aug. 1 to do so.

“After that they can’t come in and make arrangements to make payments,” he said. “We’re going to start shutoffs on the 10th, and anybody has to make arrangements by the 1st.”

Approximately 120 of the village’s 1,200 water customers were delinquent as of three weeks ago, about four times the normal delinquency rate. The bimonthly bill for the average household of four is $84.

Hoover said since the BPA first announced they would resume shutting off water service, about 80 delinquent customers either paid in full or entered into a payment plan.

At the village council meeting that followed th BPA meeting, council agreed to borrow $$550,000 from the Ohio Water Development Authority to replace water meters with new radio meters that can monitored and read remotely from the office. The loan will be repaid with money from a $2.50 monthly fee added to water customer bills for that purpose in 2017.

Hoover said the new meters can track water usage every 15 minutes, enabling them to determine almost instantly when a water break occurs instead of having to wait until meters are read every two months. It will also eliminate the need for a meter reader.

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