Atlantans with overpaid water bills might receive refunds from legislation proposed by City Councilman Alex Wan.

Wan’s resolution would use money from the city’s Water & Wastewater Revenue Fund, among other funds, to reimburse customers of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management.

The resolution mentions an additional document will be provided to quantify which customers will get refunds. The range of the refunds was also left blank. The resolution was referred to the council’s Finance/Executive Committee — which is chaired by Wan. The committee’s next meeting is Jan. 25.

27,000 Atlantans could get their water cut off in the new year
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At the same time, Atlanta’s Watershed Management department is currently shutting off water services for people with delinquent bills. Watershed Commissioner Mikita Browning said the cut offs will affect 27,000 customers. The city hasn’t performed cut offs for single families since roughly 2010, Browning said.

According to city officials, Atlanta had $121 million in uncollected water charges as of September 2022. Meanwhile, the city is working with Georgia to obtain federal funds to assist families with burdensome water bills through the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.

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