What to Do When You Can’t Pay Your California Water Service Bill
California Water Service company supplies water services to nearly 100 cities in California. There are 28 customer service centers offering support for nearly 500,000 customers. California Water Service is part of the California Water Service Group of water companies, which also supplies water to customers in New Mexico, Hawaii and Washington.
How to Pay a Bill
Pay online: California Water Service allows you to pay your California Water Service bill online at https://secure3.i-doxs.net/calwater/. Customers have the option to enroll in the e-bill service with automatic payment from the online account.
APS: The Automatic Payment Service (APS) allows California Water Service to take the full amount of your utility bill out of the account you provide at sign-up every month. This is an auto-billing service, so the customer does not have the option of making partial payments while using APS.
Pay by phone: Customers can call 1-866-734-0743 to make payments by phone. You can only make phone payments with a bank account or credit/debit card with a Visa logo.
Pay in person: Customer service centers are located throughout the service area. You can search for customer service centers in your district. The returned list includes the center address and phone number.
Pay by Western Union: Western Union accepts payments for California Water Service. There is a $1 charge added to the payment.
Questions About Your Billing Statement or Account?
Customers have the right to understand fees listed on their water bill. California Water Service lists all fees by service location on the Rates and Tariffs Documents page. If you want a direct answer about your bill, contact a customer service agent. Phone numbers for customer service are listed by location. You can find your customer service number on the California Water Service website.
How the Penalty Fees Work
California Water Service may charge penalty fees for late payments, returned checks and collection attempts.
- Deposit: Customers will provide information when starting service with California Water Service that allows the company to calculate credit worthiness. There could be a deposit of up to two times the average monthly bill for some customers.
- Reconnection (normal business hours): $50
- Reconnection (after hours, holidays and weekends): $90
Service will not be disconnected until the full deposit is used to pay past due bills. After the deposit is absorbed, the customer will receive a disconnection notice no later than two days before disconnection is scheduled.
I Can’t Make a Payment
Customers having trouble making the California Water Service bill payment on-time should immediately contact customer service at 1-877-419-1701.
LIRA: LIRA is the low-income rate assistance program. Customers falling into certain income guidelines qualify for a monthly discount. This program does not cover past water bills, so customers are responsible for any current and past due charges when accepted into the LIRA program.
Income guidelines for LIRA are:
- One or two people in the home: $31,800
- Three people in the home: $37,400
- Four people in the home: $45,100
- Five people in the home: $52,800
- Six people in the home: $60,500
- Seven or more people in the home: Add $7,700 per person to the six person income limit.
There is an online application that can be filed electronically.
Will They Work With Me to Pay My Bill?
Did California Water Service help you resolve your past due balance? Let us know how the company worked for you.
