COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

If you have a question that is not listed please feel free to contact Erin George anytime via text message at 785-766-3429 or via email at jeffersonrwd9@gmail.com

What constitutes an emergency?

If you are out and about and happen to see water coming out of the ground, you need to please call one of our operators, Mike George – 785-224-6440 or Daniel Newell – 785-393-1504, to let them know. 

If you are completely out of water, please check with your neighbors first to see if they are having the same problems.  If so, again, please call one of our operators, Mike George – 785-224-6440 or Daniel Newell – 785-393-1504, to let them know.  Our district operators are usually aware of any major water outages and are in the process of fixing them and will have water back on as soon as possible.  When repairs are being made, your calls may not be answered or returned.  We are hoping to set up an alert system soon. For now, if you would like to be notified via text message if there is an outage due to a leak, please text Erin George at 785-766-3429 and let her know and she will add you to the text group to send a message out when there is an outage.

What do I do when building a new home? 

If you are building a new home, first please contact the district to determine if water is available where you are building.  If it is determined it is, then you will need to fill out the Water Users Agreement Form and pay the cost of the new benefit unit, which is $4500. 

What do I need to do if I plan to Dig around my property?

Call 811 or call 1-800-dig-safe (800-344-7233). Go to their website, www.kansas811.com, for more information.

Who else do I need to contact when looking at buying a property in Lakewood Hills?

Please call Lakewood Hills Office at 785-876-2259 for more information on sewer, trash, and any other fees within the subdivision of Lakewood Hills. Their website info is: https://lwhid.org/ or you can email Anita at clerk.lwh@gmail.com.

What happens if you do not pay your bill?

The benefit unit owner will receive a past due notice in the mail letting them know that they need to pay the account in full by the next billing due date. If the past due amount is still not paid by the next billing cycle, then they are given till the next billing due date to pay all past due amounts, or their water will be shut off. There will be a $50 disconnect and $50 connect fee to get the water turned back on after the past due amount is paid in full. If the account continues to be unpaid for six months, then the water district board can forfeit your meter, and you will have to buy the meter back to obtain water again. You will always be notified of when the board meeting will be held discussing your possible forfeited meter and you will have that time to appear and be heard.

What happens to the water bill if I rent my house, and the renters move out without paying?

If you own a home and decide that you want to rent your home, you need to make sure and have both parties fill out the Property owner – Tenant agreement form and turn that into the water district office. The ultimate person responsible for the payment of water used on a property is the owner of the home and or benefit unit owner.  If in the case a renter moves out and they owe the district a past due amount on the account, that amount is the responsibility of the owner to pay. 

How to get a forfeited meter reinstated?

If a meter has been forfeited on a certain property and someone is looking to buy that property, the interested party should email the water district to inquire about how much it will cost to reinstate the forfeited meter.

On Sept. 19, 2017,  the RWD #9 Board passed that for a forfeited meter to be reinstated, '(1) that all fees and charges due to the district in addition to any fees and charges that would have accrued since the date of forfeiture; and (2) a benefit unit reinstatement fee which shall not exceed 20 percent of the district's current new benefit unit fee' will all be paid prior to the meter being reconnected, as per HB 2080 which was passed on July 1, 2017.

For example, if a forfeited meter had $300 past due on the account, to get that meter reinstated, the total amount due would be $300 plus $50 each for disconnect and reconnect ($100 total) and the meter reinstatement fee of 20% of currently what a new meter ($4500) would cost which would be $900. Total owed prior to reinstating the meter would be $1300 which will need to be paid in full.