February 1, 2024
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I am introducing the Water Is Life Amendment Act of 2024. Please find enclosed a
signed copy of the legislation.
D.C. Water’s motto, “water is life,” recognizes that fresh water is necessary for the survival of all
living organisms on E arth. However, my office regularly assists District residents whose water
service has been shut off due to nonpayment—even in circumstances where those very residents
are either tenants who are not responsible for paying the bills or individuals who are eligible for
utility assistance programs. Residential tenants are particularly vulnerable to service
disconnection because in many cases, they are not the D.C. Water account holder—the property
owner is. Black households are disproportionately likely to be renters, and shortcomings in our
utility assistance programs fall hardest on them.
A particularly frustrating pattern my office has observed is that many low -income residents
cannot reestablish service once they are disconnected because they are ineligible to enroll in
utility assistance programs without first paying down their outstanding bill . Moreover, our water
assistance programs—like other assistance programs—are chronically under -enrolled. As few as
ten percent of eligible households participate in water assistance programs.
To put an end to the avoidable and inequitable infliction of human misery that water service
disconnections represent, the Water Is Life Amendment Act of 2024 makes two critical changes
to the provision of water service in D.C. First, the legislation ensures residential tenants can
access their water bill and utility payment programs that are intended to prevent low-income
residents from service interruptions . Making it easier for tenants to enroll in these programs is a
win-win because D.C. Water is the ultimate recipient of any water assistance that a District
resident receives.
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Second, the legislation bans water service disconnections for nonpayment at residential
properties to ensure that residents are not subjected to a humiliating, unsafe, and ultimately
unnecessary penalty. The disconnection of water service is not simply a nuisance; very quickly it
can compound the challenges a family is experiencing . Without water, a family cannot bathe,
cook healthy meals, prepare infant formula, and so much more . Those outcomes are not
theoretical—during my first year in office, my team repeatedly assisted residents who faced the
prospect of navigating life with an infant or young children without water service. Water shutoffs
also have the potential to exacerbate the racially and economically disparate impacts of lead
poisoning as stagnant water can corrode pipe surfaces and allow lead and other metals to leach
into the water. And, for water customers who are in fact eligible for utility assistance programs,
disconnection becomes the insurmountable hurdle to their enrollment in those programs.
To be clear, a residential disconnection ban will not threaten the financial or operational integrity
of D.C. Water. The City of Chicago instituted a similar disconnection ban in 2022, yet the
financial outlook for its Water Fund has not materially changed.
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D.C. Water’s fundamental
guarantee of payment is its ability to impose a lien on a property associated with an account in
arrears pursuant to D.C. Code § 34–2407.02. D espite claiming that this proposal might impair
representations that D.C. Water makes to its bondholders, D.C. Water has thus far been
unwilling to produce a copy of the representations it claims would be impaired. The bill also
leaves intact D.C. Water’s ability to disconnect for nonpayment at commercial properties, which
represent a significant portion of D.C. Water’s customers . The residential disconnection ban
would have no practical impact on customers in multifamily buildings, where D.C. Water
already has a practice—though not a n enforceable policy—of maintaining water service despite
nonpayment. Finally, the legislation makes explicit D.C. Water’s authority to disconnect service
if it determines that service to a property is causing waste, abuse of water supply, or any danger
to public health or safety.
Please contact my Deputy Chief of Staff , Conor Shaw, at cshaw@dccouncil.gov if you have any
questions about this legislation.
Sincerely,
Zachary Parker
Ward 5 Councilmember
1
See Annual Comprehensive Financial Report For the Year Ended Dec. 31, 2022, City of
Chicago Dept. of Water Management,
https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/fin/supp_info/CAFR/2022CAFR/Water2022.pd
f. 1
_____________________________ 2
Councilmember Zachary Parker 3
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A BILL 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To amend the District of Columbia Public Works Act of 1954 and the Water and Sewer 15
Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996 to 16
ensure authorized tenants of residential properties are able to receive utility payment 17
assistance and to prevent water service from being disconnected from residential 18
properties for nonpayment. 19
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21
act may be cited as the “Water Is Life Amendment Act of 2024”. 22
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Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Public Works Act of 1954, approved May 18, 1954 (68 24
Stat. 102; D.C. Official Code § 34–2101 et seq .), is amended as follows: 25
(a)Section 101 (D.C. Official Code § 34-2303) is amended to read as follows:26
“(a) If an owner of a residential property, their agent , or a third party service is billed 27
directly by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (“DC Water”) for water and 28
sanitary sewer services provided to the residential property, an authorized tenant who resides at 29
the service address may request and receive a copy of the water and sanitary sewer services if the 30
person is an authorized tenant. 31
(b) Any payment made by a tenant of residential property pursuant to subsection (a) of32
this section shall be deemed in lieu of an equal amount of rent and shall be deducted, by the 33
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landlord, from any rent due and owing or to become due and owing to the owner, agent, lessor, 34
or manager of the residential property. 35
(c) An authorized tenant that is eligible for a payment plan or any customer assistance 36
programs may apply for both the plan or any applicable programs and may receive assistance 37
from the People’s Counsel. 38
(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Mayor from pursuing any other appropriate 39
action or remedy at law or equity against
an owner, agent, lessor, manager, or tenant of a 40
residential property, including that DC Water shall retain the right to lien the account property in 41
accordance with provision for DC Code §34- 2407.02 et seq . 42
(e) DC Water shall not be responsible for the fraudulent acts or acts of omission 43
associated with deeming a person an authorized tenant, and the DC Water shall incur no liability 44
associated deeming the tenant an authorized tenant. 45
(f) For the purposes of this section, the term: 46
(1) “Authorized tenant” is a person who has provided acceptable evidence of 47
occupancy in accordance with rules issued pursuant to § 34- 2306. 48
(2) “Residential property” means a property that contains an ambulatory car e 49
facility, group home, sleeping unit, dwelling unit, housing unit, custodial care facility, or foster 50
care facility as those terms are defined in Section 202 of the Building Code Supplement of 2017 51
(12A D.C.M.R § 202 (2021)).” 52
(b) Section 103 ( D.C. Official Code § 34–2407.01 ) is amended to read as follows: 53
“(a) The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized to provide for the collection of 54
water charges, in advance or otherwise, from the owner or occupant of any building, 55
establishment, or other place furnished water or water service by the District. 56
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“(b) The Mayor is authorized to shut off the water supply to any such building, 57
establishment, or other place upon a determination that water service is causing waste, abuse of 58
water supply, or any danger to public health or safety . Within 180 days of enactment of the 59
Water Is Life Amendment Act of 2024, the Mayor shall promulgate rules or regulations for 60
making such determination. 61
“(c) The Mayor is authorized to shut off the water supply to any nonresidential building, 62
establishment, or other place upon failure of the owner or occupant thereof to pay such water 63
charges within 30 days from the date of rendition of the bill therefor. Such authority to shut off 64
the water supply may be exercised by the Mayor regardless of any change in ownership or 65
occupancy of such nonresidential building, establishment, or other place. When the water supply 66
to any such nonresidential building, establishment, or other place has been shut off for failure to 67
pay such water charges, the Mayor shall not again supply such nonresidential building, 68
establishment, or other place with water until all arrears of water charges, together with penalties 69
and the costs actually incurred in shutting off and restoring the water supply, are paid. 70
“(d) If the water supply to any property has been shut off for failure to pay District water 71
and sanitary sewer service charges, and later restored without the express authorization of the 72
Mayor, the Mayor shall impose a fine in an amount not less than 20% of the delinquent charges 73
or more than $100, whichever is greater, upon the owner or occupant of the property, unless the 74
Mayor determines that the owner or occupant did not restore or solicit a person to restore the 75
water. 76
“(e) For the purposes of this section, the term “nonresidential building” means a building 77
that does not contain an ambulatory care facility, group home, sleeping unit, dwelling unit, 78
housing unit, custodial care facility, or foster care facility as those terms are defined in Section 79
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202 of the Building Code Supplement of 2017 (12A D.C.M.R § 202 (2021) ).” 80
Sec. 3. T he Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public 81
Works Reorganization Act of 1996 (D.C. Law 11 -111; D.C. Official Code § 34–2202.01 et seq. ), 82
is amended as follows: 83
(a) Section 201 (D.C. Official Code § 34–2202.01) is amended by adding a new 84
paragraph (5A) to read as follows: 85
“(5A) “Nonresidential building” means a building that does not contain an 86
ambulatory care facility, group home, sleeping unit, dwelling unit, housing unit, custodial care 87
facility, or foster care facility as those terms are defined in Section 202 of the Building Code 88
Supplement of 2017 (12A D.C.M.R § 202 (2021) ).” 89
(b) Section 203 (D.C. Official Code § 34–2202.03 ) is amended as follows: 90
(1) Paragraph ( 19) is amended to read as follows: 91
“(19) To shut off water and sewer service to any building, establishment, or other 92
place upon a determination that water service is causing waste, abuse of water supply, or any 93
danger to public health, safety, or the general well-being of the District water system or to shut 94
off water and sewer service to a nonresidential building for failure of the owner or occupant 95
thereof to pay such water charges within 30 days from the date of rendition of the bill;” 96
(2) Paragraph (32) is amended by striking the phrase “ ; and” and inserting a 97
semicolon in its place; 98
(3) Paragraph (33) is amended by striking the period and inserting “; and” in its 99
place. 100
(4) A new paragraph (34) is added to read as follows: 101
“(34) To forgive debts owed by current and former customers in circumstances 102
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deemed appropriate by the agency.” 103
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 104
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 105
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 106
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 107
Sec. 5. Effective date. 108
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 109
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 110
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 111
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1- 206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 112
Columbia Register. 113