Service outages are never convenient, but you have options to delay an interruption if you have medical issues or need to apply for financial help. It's best to keep in touch with the city and if the water is off due to a water main break, the repairs are usually done within eight hours. Please reach out to the Water Bureau or visit the main website for more information.
Philadelphia's Water Revenue Bureau is responsible for the service and metering of its water and sewer lines, and a large part of service includes maintenance and the possibility for planned service outages. Most utility providers communicate this to their customers by phone or email. However, service outages are inconvenient and it's understandable to be frustrated when you never received any prior notice. This guide will show you the way in case of both planned and unplanned outages. Read on for more information.
There are many possible reasons why there is an outage and the service must be shut off. If water must be shut off for delinquent payments, the customer will receive at least one of two types of notices: past due and final notices. Another situation that would require a service interruption would be a water main breakage. The company needs to shut the water off to repair the problem and any customers affected by the outage would receive a door hanger. Luckily, most water main breakages are repaired within six to eight hours, but other reasons include lack of access to the water meter or threats to the water quality that affect the community. Please contact the Water Bureau for more information about these situations.
Chances are if you pay your water and sewage bill on time, the outage you're experiencing could be a planned outage, especially if you received any prior notices by phone or email. If this is the case, please call the City of Philadelphia Water Revenue Bureau customer service here. The agents might be able to give you an estimated time of restoration, as well as instructions on what to do until then. If you have a water emergency, please call the water emergency hotline. For general inquiries, there's a contact form on the website and the city water department can be reached via email.
Unfortunately, if a service interruption is due to delinquency there's little that can be done other than pay the bill. There are ways to prevent or postpone these service interruptions. If you have a medical need, you can have your shut off postponed for 30 days if the city has a medical statement from your doctor on file. Please note that you would need to have your account paid in full or entered a payment plan before the 30 days is up.
The Water Bureau is also aware that sometimes the water shut off is due to the landlord not making payments. This impacts the tenant who is protected under the Utility Service Tenants Rights Act and the tenant has a right to stop the shut off. Please call the Water Revenue Customer Service to learn more about this process.
If you struggle to make your payments, you would be given a 14-day window of protection if you decide to apply for assistance paying your bill. This protection also includes time while your application is being reviewed. Please keep in mind that the city does its best to restore service within 24 hours once payment is made.
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