Water and Wastewater Billings

1. Enrol in our pre-authorized payment plan.
2. Online or telephone banking.
3. Chartered banks, caisse populaire, credit unions, or trust companies: Payments are only accepted on or before the installment due date.
4. Payment by mail: Enclose payment stub(s) with cheque/money order. If you require a receipt for payment, please send a self-addressed/stamped envelope along with the bill and your payment.
5. In-person: City Hall, 60 East Main Street, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
6. After hours: Deposit payments (cheques only) in the City Hall drop box, located at the first set of doors closest to Cross Street.

This voluntary plan offers you an easy, time-saving option to have your water/wastewater billing payment automatically deducted from your bank account.

How does the plan work?
There are no service charges or fees to enrol in the plan. All that is required is completing and submitting the Pre-authorized payment plan application, along with a VOID cheque. Payments are deducted on the due date of your water/wastewater billings.

Equal monthly billing plan option
A minimum of four metered billings are required before enrolling in the monthly equal billing plan option. Monthly equal billing payments may be adjusted throughout the year as required. Yearly recalculations are required to reflect the yearly water/wastewater rate structure. Complete the Water/wastewater monthly equal billing payment plan application form and attach a VOID cheque to the requested form.

In order to participate in the water/wastewater pre-authorized payment plan program or monthly equal billing payment plan, your water/wastewater account must be free of arrears.

What if my banking information changes, or I want to cancel the pre-authorized payment plan
The plan is entirely flexible. If your banking information changes, or you want to cancel your pre-authorized payment plan, you must notify the finance department, in writing, at least 30 days before the effective date.?

Questions?
For further information on the pre-authorized payment plan, please contact the finance division.

Where is my meter? For most homes, the water meter is where the main water line comes into the house. It is usually located right after the main shut-off valve.

How does the City read my meter if it is in the house? The water meter is connected to the electronic touchpad (the rectangular box) on the outside of the home where the meter reader can obtain a reading.

Can I read my own meter? It is a good practice for you to read your meter and record the readings at the same time period to become familiar with the amount of consumption used in the household.

Mechanical wheel meter

Most properties have a mechanical wheel meter as shown above.

Water flow indicator is the red triangle spinning in circles as water flows through the water meter. The triangle should not move when water is not being used. If it is spinning when water is not in use, this means water is flowing through the meter and indicates a possible water leak (triangle shown with blue arrow in picture above).

Numeric reading is measured in cubic metres (m³) with the last number that is in black representing a tenth of a cubic metre (shown with red arrow in picture above).

Radio frequency (RF) meter

There are some properties in Welland that have an RF meter (shown above) installed instead of the mechanical wheel meter (shown above). The difference with the RF meter is that there is no touchpad to connect to as the reading is transmitted via radio frequency to the meter reader. Some RF meters have a black cover that needs to be opened to see the display.

In order to see the LCD display, it must be activated with a strong flashlight. The flip lid meter heads have displays which are solar-powered. The flashlight must be a strong light and held long enough to provide enough energy to the display; cell phones or inexpensive flashlights are too weak.

Leak indicator in the top left corner of the display.

If the indicator is flashing – intermittent leak indicating that water has been used for at least 50 of the 96 (15-minute intervals) during a 24-hour period.

If the indicator is solid – indicates water was used for all 96 (15-minute intervals) during a 24-hour period.

The LCD display has a forward arrow with a plus sign (+) flashing very slowly, and it will not stop flashing. What is the problem?

This indicates a very slight flow. Watch the ninth digit in the LCD display, and you will see it increase over time. A change in this digit represents a tenth of a litre (100 millilitres) of consumption change. This is equivalent to observing the movement of the red triangle on the traditional six-wheel mechanical encoder water meters.

Call City staff at 905-735-1700 x3000 to arrange for a meter inspection before the closing date. Please register a minimum of 48 hours in advance for the inspection.

A few facts to keep in mind:

• Inspections are conducted Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Property owner or a representative must be present for the inspection.
• Cost of the meter inspection and final meter reading is $75, payable by the vendor on the final billing.

If the meter is found to be tampered with, the vendor is responsible for the following charges:

• $500 tampering fee for residential properties.
• $1,000 tampering fee for commercial properties.
• $5,000 tampering fee for industrial properties.
• Cost of the meter replacement.

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If you have purchased a home in Welland, please ensure that your lawyer has sent a copy of the property deed to finance@welland.ca. Once we receive this information and after the property closing date, your water account will be set up. Bills are issued quarterly, so you will receive your first water bill within three months of taking possession of the property. The new utility account number will be on your water/wastewater bill. Please refer to this account number when making payments on your utility account.

Water services are not interrupted during property transactions.

Commercial, industrial, and institutional properties’ equivalent units for the fixed rates are determined by the meter size according to AWWA as follows:

• meter size: 5/8 inch and 3/4 inch – equivalent units: 1
• meter size: 1 inch – equivalent units: 1.4
• meter size: 1 1/2 inch – equivalent units: 1.8
• meter size: 2 inch – equivalent units: 2.9
• meter size: 3 inch – equivalent units: 11
• meter size: 4 inch – equivalent units: 14
• meter size: 6 inch – equivalent units: 21
• meter size: 8 inch – equivalent units: 29
• meter size: 10 inch – equivalent units: 40

Multi-residential properties with two to six units are billed as follows:

• water fixed rate = number of units x water fixed rate x 0.8625
• wastewater fixed rate = number of units x wastewater fixed rate x 0.8625
• water consumption rate = consumption x $2.1608
• wastewater treatment rate = consumption x $3.3959

Multi-residential properties with seven units and greater are billed as follows:

• water fixed rate = number of units x water fixed rate x 0.70625
• wastewater fixed rate = number of units x wastewater fixed rate x 0.70625
• water consumption rate = consumption x $2.1608
• wastewater treatment rate = consumption x $3.3959