From DC Water:

“DC Water customers who pay their bills online or by phone will see some changes beginning next month. DC Water is switching to a new platform to process payments. Also, due to a steep increase in merchant card fees, in February the Authority will start assessing a processing fee on all payments made by credit/debit card.

The credit card processing fee will enable DC Water to recoup the costs of providing this convenient payment option to customers. The fees that DC Water pays to card issuers have increased 26% per year, from a total of $1 million in 2018 to $2.7 million in 2023. Read More

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve lived in an apartment in Capitol Hill for a year and a half. The apartment uses an allocation method to calculate water/sewer, which is “50% occupancy 50% unit square feet.” My bill has consistently been about $20 for water and $40 for sewer. For September, I received a water bill for $90 and sewer bill for $156 – 4 times the usual amount.

What protections do tenants have against outrageous increases when allocation methods are used? Read More

“Dear PoPville,

Our water usage for our townhouse has tripled, from 10 CCF a month to almost 30 CCF. This has also raised our monthly water bill to $500 a month! Read More

This rental is located at 13th ST Ne near Maryland Ave NE. The Craigslist ad says:

“$2,799 / 3br – Beautifully restored Victorian light filled townhouse steps to H-ST (Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Union Station) Read More

This rental is located at Florida near 2nd st nw. The Craigslist ad says:

“$1,150 Walk to Metro private patio Sunny Bloomindale Efficiency for Rent (Bloomingdale) Read More

This rental is located at 63 Quincy Pl NW near Florida Ave NW. The Craigslist ad says:

“$1,975 / 2br – 750ft2 – TWO Bedroom ONE Bathroom. Available 8-1-21 (Bloomingdale) Read More

“Dear PoPville,

Here is an unusual thing that happened: We came home to find a stack of mail that consisted of 40 DC Water bills. The amount due for each one ranged from the usual amount to 0 to $1800 credit Read More

Photo by Geoff Livingston

“Dear PoPville,

During my 10+ years living in DC, I have handled my monthly water and sewer usage a number of different ways: no charge (apartment pays it); directly billed with DC Water; and via a formula, referred to as RUBS where essentially the building receives a bill and divvys it out amongst residents via a formula. No matter how I’ve been billed, the cost was so nominal that I never cared to investigate how or why I was being charged the way that I was – on average, anywhere between $15-25 per person for both sewer and water.

All that has changed. Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Clif Burns

“Dear PoPville,

The house my husband and I rent changed ownership, and property management, a couple months ago. We came home from work yesterday to find our water shut off. We’ve since learned from the new property manager that the prior owner/property manager hadn’t paid (or transitioned) the water bill for many, many months. They’ve now paid DC Water and we are told the water will either be turned back on today…or Monday. Read More

This rental is located at 2nd and V Street, NW. The Craiglist ad says:

“$1975 / 2br – Renovated 2BR 2nd flr Apt + den in Ledriot Park near Howard University Read More