Public Alerts

There are currently no alerts or advisories at this time.
Last Updated 2012-05-16
 

In case of water and sewer emergencies please tune into WNPV 1440 AM for Montgomery County and Central and Upper Bucks County customers and WBCB 1490 AM for Lower Bucks County customers.
Home Maintenance Program Terms & Conditions
Terms & Conditions
Definitions

BCWSA: “Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority

Cleanout: The pipe that extends above ground on a property for the purposes of cleaning the Sewer Lateral on the property

Eligible Work: Work that will be performed under the Maintenance Agreement

Property Contribution: The amount the property owner must pay towards the cost of repair work

Exclusions: Work or items that are not eligible under the Maintenance Agreement

Monthly Fee: The amount the property owner pays each month to participate in the Maintenance Agreement

Property: The location which is the subject of the Maintenance Agreement and where BCWSA personnel can and will perform work pursuant to the Maintenance Agreement.

Property Owner: The person whose name is listed in the BCWSA billing records as the owner of record for the address listed on the Maintenance Agreement for participation.

Property Owners Agent: A person or agency that represents the interests of the Property Owner listed in the BCWSA billing records as owner of record of the property participating in the Maintenance Agreement.

Renewable Plan: The Maintenance Agreement will automatically renew each year unless terminated under the terms of the Agreement

Service Call: Performance of any maintenance or repair on a Participating property Water Service or Sewer Lateral

Sewer Lateral: The Sanitary Sewer Pipe that leaves the participating property’s dwelling and connects to sewer facilities in the public right of way or legally described easement

Water Service: The underground piping that leaves the participating property’s dwelling and connects to water facilities in the public right of way or legally described easement

Sewage Grinder Unit: A pump/grinding unit that using positive displacement pumps the ground up sewage from the property’s dwelling to the gravity sewer facilities or low pressure sewer facilities in the public right of way or legally described easement

Community Organization: Any community organization, corporation or association, etc. that has been formed pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania whose purpose is to own common elements of any residential housing development including, but not limited to, open space, sewer lines, water lines, streets, sidewalks and the like which said organization is managed by a Board of Directors and/ or a management company hired by the Board of Directors.

 
Community Organization Eligibility

A community organization, as defined above, will be eligible to participate in the Water and Sewer Maintenance Program subject to the following conditions:

1. The residential community consists of at least 200 or more individual residential dwelling units;
 
2. The Maintenance Program costs will be billed directly to the organization and paid by the organization as opposed to each individual owner of any residential dwelling or unit within the development;

3. The original enrollment period will be 5 years and each subsequent renewal period will be in 5 year increments

4. All improvements outside the outer walls of an of the structures located in the community such as retaining walls, rock filled swales, lighting bases, lighting poles, etc. are owned by the community organization and are not individually owned by any unit owners;

5. Any community structure and the like as noted in the previous subsection of this section are eligible for restoration.

6. Any individual dwelling/ unit that is part of a community organization enrolled in the maintenance program will enjoy the same eligibility benefits as a single residential property enrolled in the maintenance program as it pertains to maintenance and restoration. 

 
Eligibility
A property is eligible for inclusion in the program if the property owner or tenant is a customer of the BCWSA and whose account is not past due for any amount. In order to be eligible, the record owner must sign a Maintenance Agreement with BCWSA or verbally enroll by phone through a BCWSA representative. There will be a two (2) week waiting period for any repair or replacement work to take place. The pipe covered is limited to pipes for residential purposes and can be no larger than 2” diameter for Water Service and 4” diameter for Sewer Lateral and for commercial it can be no larger than 4” diameter for Water Service and 6” diameter for Sewer Lateral. There will also be a limit of one (1) Water Service and one (1) Sewer Lateral per property, unless subject to another Agreement to BCWSA. Self contained Sewage Grinder units are also covered with a discharge line of no greater than 2” and a horsepower no larger than 2hp.
 
Service Call
BCWSA has a 24 hour per day 7 days per week operations center that can respond to calls for maintenance and/or repair. We will make every attempt to correct the problem within 24 hours but reserve the right to extend that time period for weather or safety reasons at any time and at the discretion of BCWSA. We also reserve the right to deny performance of repair work if negligence on the part of the property owner is determined to be the cause of the problem. 
 
Eligible Work

Subject to the limits of the Maintenance work set for in this agreement BCWSA will handle all costs related to the maintenance and repair of the participating property’s water service or Sewer Lateral (less the applicable property contribution if any) resulting from a service call made by the property owner to BCWSA. The eligibility extends to the pipe for the water service or sewer lateral that exit the dwelling on the participating property and connects to facilities in the public right of way or legally described easement. Eligible types of maintenance items for sewer laterals that impede or completely block flow are root intrusion, grease blockage (not a result of lack of maintenance for commercial properties), pipe separation of a significant nature (ground settlement), pipe collapse or any other item that would cause the lateral to cease the flow from the house to the public facility that is not the result of negligence on the part of the property owner.  Eligible types of maintenance items for water services lines are pin holes that cause water to surface on the property or enter the home, separation of the service line from the home or the shut off valve near the public facility, complete loss of water and or pressure as a result of corrosion or decay and freezing of the line due to temperature.

Restoration of areas disturbed while performing work on facilities under this maintenance plan will include asphalt driveways, grass areas, minor soft landscaping (mulch beds and small shrubs) walkways (asphalt or concrete only) from the public sidewalk or property driveway to the home (One (1) per property) and all grass, sidewalk (concrete) and asphalt disturbance in the public right of way.

All reasonable care will be taken by BCWSA to limit the degree of disturbance and will inform the property owner, in advance of a repair, of any items that may be deemed not eligible for restoration under this program.
 
Exclusions

The BCWSA will NOT consider the following costs eligible under the Maintenance Agreement:

1. Removal of structures to perform work under the agreement such as decks, sheds and non public retaining walls.
2. Cost to restore, but not limited to, Hardscaping, ornamental Softscaping, driveways (other than asphalt), additional walkways, patios, decks and any other additional structures.
3. Negligence on the part of the property owner, his agents, tenants or any other person or persons not employed or contracted by BCWSA
4. Damaged or improperly installed lines by unlicensed or uncertified contractors, as well as lines which were not inspected by an inspector or engineer licensed to do so in the State of PA.
5. Damage from insects, vermin, pets, misuse, theft, war, earthquakes, floods, water pressure fluctuations or any other natural disaster or acts of God.
6. Grease blockages as a result of improperly operated or improperly maintained grease traps or interceptors inside or outside the property on the Maintenance Program.
7. Request for service made within two (2) weeks of enrollment date.
8. Inflow and Infiltration of groundwater, rainwater or any other source of water into the lateral.
 
Cost Limits
BCWSA will repair or replace the participating property piping up to a maximum of $5000.00 for residential per occurrence and $10,000.00 for commercial, we will consider up to two (2) occurrences per year eligible. All work under this agreement must be performed by BCWSA or a designate of and by BCWSA. Any other unauthorized work performed will not be eligible under this agreement. A property contribution of $500.00 for residential and $1000.00 for commercial will be due and payable after the eligible work under this agreement is completed (not including restoration). If you are with this program for 10 years without repair work needed your property contribution will scale down to $50.00 a year for residential and will reset to $500.00 after any claims. Commercial properties are not eligible for the property contribution scale down.
 
Additional Problems
If within one (1) year, a subsequent failure or need for repairs occurs, the additional corrective work will be performed at no cost to the customer or property owner and will not affect the maximum yearly limitations on the amount to be expended.
 
Enrollment
Participation under the BCWSA Water Service or Sewer Lateral program will begin after the two (2) week waiting period has elapsed. The program is a Renewable Plan and enrollment is for a minimum of two (2) years and is automatically renewable for an indefinite term unless the property owner notifies BCWSA in writing via certified mail to:  BCWSA  Attn:  COO  1275 Almshouse Rd., Warrington, PA  18976  of their desire to terminate the participation. Once written notice of a desire to terminate participation is received the participation will cease at the next renewal period. 
 
Billing
BCWSA will bill each enrolled property on a monthly basis in the amount of $5 per Water Service, $5 per Sewer Lateral and $10 per Grinder unit. Commercial amount of $10 per Water Service $10 per Sewer Lateral and $20 per Grinder unit identified as an eligible item in the Maintenance Agreement. Non – Payment or late payment of the per-line fee will NOT result in termination of your water or sewer service to the property however, will be subject to same collection as non-payment of service charges.
 
Cancellation

BCWSA reserves the right to refuse repair at any property for the following reasons:
 
1. Non - payment of Monthly fee

2. Fraud or misrepresentation of facts by the property owner or his agent that are material to the decision by BCWSA to allow a property to participate in a Maintenance Agreement.
 
More Articles...


Featured Articles

Most Recent

Most Visited