Can a Louisiana city lower a customer's water bill because a pipe leaked?

Plain-English summary

Morgan City proposed a policy for reducing water bills when customers reported leaks, repaired them, and supplied documentation of the repairs and costs. The proposed credit would have been based on the customer's average water use over the previous three months. The Attorney General said the proposal needed another condition: the city could adjust a bill for a leak only if the city caused it.

The opinion relied on earlier AG opinions. It said that reducing a bill where there was no evidence of an improperly read or malfunctioning meter would amount to a prohibited donation of public funds. It also said the office had allowed a water-use credit when the municipality caused the damage to the pipe. The opinion addresses Morgan City's proposed policy under the law discussed in 2002.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Can a Louisiana city credit a bill whenever a customer fixes a leak?
Under this opinion, no. The AG said a leak credit under Morgan City's proposed policy required the municipality to have caused the leak.

Would a receipt for pipe repairs qualify a customer for the proposed credit?
The proposed policy required repair documentation and costs, but the AG found it incomplete because it did not address the cause of the leak.

Why did the AG object to credits for other leaks?
The opinion cited earlier AG guidance that adjusting a bill without evidence of a meter-reading or meter-function problem would amount to a donation of public funds barred by Louisiana's constitution.

Background and statutory framework

Morgan City operated its own water company and asked about a policy for customers who claimed a leak. The opinion discussed Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 and earlier AG opinions concerning public-funds restrictions and city-caused pipe damage. It recommended revising the policy to identify city-caused leaks as the condition for an adjustment.

Citations and references

• Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974
• Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 97-425, 99-208, and 99-375, as discussed in this opinion

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0191

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
CIVIL DIVISION
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
FAX: (225) 342-2090
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

JUN 13 2002
Opinion Number 02-0191

71 Municipalities
90-A-2 Public Funds - Loan, Pledge or Grants 167 Utilities

Honorable Tim Tregle, Mayor City of Morgan City policy for water bill adjustments should include that adjustments may be made for water leakage only
City of Morgan City
if the leak is caused by the City.
P.O. Box 1218
Morgan City, LA 70381

Dear Mayor Tregle:

We received your request for an opinion regarding a policy proposed by the City for water bill adjustments. It is our understanding that the City of Morgan City has its own water company and would like to implement a policy for adjustments to bills in those instances when a customer claims a water leak.

As mentioned in your request, our office previously opined in Atty. Gen. Op. No. 97-425 that a municipality may not adjust a water bill when there is no evidence that the meter was not properly read or properly working. To make an adjustment in that instance would be tantamount to a donation of public funds which is expressly prohibited by Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. Our office further opined that a credit policy may be implemented in the case of water usage only in those instances where the damage to the water pipe was caused by the municipality. See Atty. Gen.
Op. Nos. 99-208 and 99-375.

The proposed policy by the City of Morgan City requires that a customer claiming a leak make the necessary repairs and provide the City with documentation of the repair and associated costs. Upon receipt of adequate documentation, the City may make an adjustment which is equal to the average of the customer’s last three months of water consumption. However, the policy makes no reference to the cause of the leak. As we previously opined, a municipality may only adjust a customer’s bill due to a water leak if the leak was caused by the municipality. Therefore, we recommend that the City revise the proposed policy to add that adjustments may be made for water leakage only if the leak is caused by the municipality.

Page 2

Opinion Number 02-0191
Honorable Tim Tregle, Mayor
City of Morgan City
Page -2-

We trust that this adequately responds to your request. If you have any questions or
comments, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

With kindest regards,

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

BY:
TINA VICARI GRANT
Assistant Attorney General

RPIfTVG/dam