Frequently Asked Questions

A full list of payment options can be found on our Ways to Pay Your Bill page.

• Any unpaid bill amount exceeding $50 for longer than 60 days is eligible for a delinquent notice.
• Accounts are researched by the Credit & Collections Unit and exempt accounts (by investigations, hearings, etc.) are removed from additional collection activity
• To those accounts that are not exempt, a letter is mailed advising the customer of the delinquent amount, the date of disconnect and the subsequent date of meter removal for non-payment.
• If no payment is received within 10-14 days, an attempt is made to contact the customer by phone to attempt a payment arrangement or other resolution to avoid further shut-off actions or collections activities.
• If no response/resolution occurs, a service order to interrupt service is generated and a $75 turn off fee is automatically assessed to the account.
• If no payment is received after 10-14 days, a service order is generated to remove the meter and an additional $75 removal fee is assessed to the account.
• After 30 days, if the arrearages are unresolved the account is closed.
• A final bill letter is mailed to customers advising to pay full amount within 10 working days of the date of the letter, if no payment account is then sent to a 3rd party collection agency (IC Systems)

1. Log in to your account at https://account.swbno.org
2. Navigate to the Billing tab
3. Click the green Pay My Bill button or gray Auto Pay button
4. Use the navigation at the top of the page, locate My Profile and choose the Payment Methods option
5. Add your bank account and/or credit card on this Payment Methods page
6. Once you've added one or more payment methods, navigate back to the Autopay page. The drop down should now populate with the payment options you entered in the previous step
7. Proceed with Auto Pay setup

We encourage you to close your account if you do not plan to return to your property within the next 6 - 12 months. Otherwise, you will continue to be billed for service charges.

Only the customer of record or the owner of record can request the account be closed. You may close your account by fax, telephone, mail or website. If you decide to close your account by fax or mail please include a copy of your picture identification i.e., driver's license, military or state ID.

Be prepared to supply us with a forwarding address to receive your final bill and or any refunds due from deposits.

We are diligently working to obtain a reading for our customers each month. However, effective December 1, 2008, if we do not obtain a reading from your meter we will assess a minimum charge for 3000 gallons of water consumption for the month. A standard water service charge plus applicable sales taxes based on your meter size will also apply. When we are able to read your meter, we will bill you for all water usage that passed through the meter since the last reading.

Click here to view all current service charges

The Water Service charge on your bill is calculated from your connection size. As long as the meter is installed, you will be billed the monthly service charge bill based on the billing chart shown.

The charge is based on the costs the S&WB must pay even if you don't use any water. These costs include reading your meter each month, replacing your meter if it needs repair, maintaining adequate water pressure, etc.

Since the S&WB must always be prepared to deliver water whenever a meter is installed, this part of your bill is sometimes called the "Ready to Serve" charge.

Click here to view a chart of water service charges

As is the usual practice, water leaks on private property are the responsibility of the property owner. Please check your property periodically for apparent water leaks make sure your water lines are secured to avoid unauthorized water usage on your meter.

High bills that are the result of leaks on private property will have 50% of the excess water charges adjusted and 100% of the excess sewer charges adjusted after the customer submits proof of the repairs and water usage returns to normal the following month. High bills resulting from a defect in the water meter or some other problem caused by the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans will be fully adjusted.

Yes. The customer of record will be responsible for any usage that is detected through the meter, whether theft has occurred or not.

Information on how to dispute your bill can be found on our Bill Dispute and Adjustments page.

Using our Third Party Notification Service, a person, in addition to the customer of record, can be notified when water service is due to be turned off for delinquency. This plan can be of service to senior citizens and customers who are ill and who are unable to handle their own affairs, to attorneys administering estates, and to customers who are frequently out of town.

To enroll, complete and sign the Third Party Notification Form and mail it to the address shown.

Although the S&WB bills and collects the Sanitation Fees for the City, we do not adjust sanitation fees. You must contact the City to have your fees removed.

• Dial 311 from a phone with a 504 area code.
• Outside New Orleans, dial 658-2299 or 1-877-286-6431.
• The hearing impaired can dial 504-658-2059 or 1-800-981-6652. Spanish and Vietnamese language assistance available.

A New Account Checklist detailing all of this information can be found on the Information for New Customers page. Please visit that page for more information.

You can either make a payment in full through one of the many methods detailed above, or you can arrange a payment plan by calling our customer service department at (504) 529-2837 M-F 7AM-7PM or visiting one of our payment locations.
If required payment has been made by 2:30 p.m., someone will be sent to restore your service the same day. If the payment is made after 2:30 p.m., the service will be restored the next business day.
Please Note: An adult (over 18) must be present when the service representative arrives or we will not be able to re-connect the service.

Customers can dispute billing charges for water, sewer and sanitation. Bills can be disputed by phone, mail, fax, or through email by completing an online form that will be sent directly to our Customer Service Department. For more information see How do I dispute the charges on my water bill?

Our bill adjustment process is explained on our Bill Dispute and Adjustments page.

Service interruption is always a last resort. We want to continue to provide you with clean, safe drinking water. Please contact our office for a payment plan if you cannot pay your bill in full. We only interrupt water service if a bill remains unpaid for more than 60 days.

An option is available to assist elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged customers with their water bills - the Water Help/Plumbing Assistance Program. This program is administered by Total Community Action and contributes up to $200 annually to eligible customers in need by way of a credit to their account. The Water Help Program covers water and sewer fees, but does not cover City of New Orleans sanitation fees. If you think you may qualify, visit the Payment Assistance page for details on how to apply.

Estimates of your water bill are now tailored to your individual account, based on your typical daily water use. In the event an estimate is required, we take 10 of your previous meter readings, two of which are required to be actual readings, and calculate how many gallons of water you use each day. We then multiply that by the number of days in the present billing period. If, for any reason, you have fewer than ten previous reads -- such as the first few months after you open a new account -- we will estimate 170 gallons a day.

Not necessarily. If you typically use less than 100 gallons a day, it will be lower. Overall, your billing estimate will be more accurate and will more closely reflect your actual water usage. This will make it easier for you to budget for your water bill each month. It will also reduce the chance you will face a startlingly high actual bill meant to correct an earlier, artificially low estimated bill.

While we make every effort to read every single meter, certain situations cause your usage to be estimated. These include unsafe weather conditions for our meter readers or an obstruction blocking the water meter. When a meter reader is unable to read your meter due to an obstruction, a door tag will be left on your door informing you that your bill will be estimated for that billing cycle.

Over the past year, we have made a number of improvements to our billing system with the goal of improving its accuracy and predictability for our customers. Several major improvements toward that end include:

• Since August 2018, we have resolved 23,000 billing disputes.
• Our billing staff is better trained in the bill review process which helps flag inaccurate readings.
• We improved our meter reading process by reordering the sequence in which meters are read. This allows a meter reader to read the same sequence of routes and become more familiar with the location of each water meter.
  • This increases the speed and accuracy of the meter reading process.
• We standardized how we read each of our different makes and models of meters.
  • Now meter readers have greater predictability and uniformity on their routes which decreases errors when entering a customers’ meter data into our billing system.

We are using 170 gallons because it is closer to the typical daily water use of SWBNO customers. It will also reduce the chance you will face a startlingly high actual bill meant to correct an earlier, artificially low estimated bill.

Take a look at your bill, at the top you’ll see “read type.”