Could a Louisiana water district credit a customer's bill for a leak without proof of the repair?

Plain-English summary

Rapides Parish Waterworks District No. 3 asked whether its proposed policy for water-leak bill adjustments complied with Louisiana law. In 2005, the Attorney General said the policy needed a documentation requirement it lacked. The AG described leak credits as authorized only when the damage was not the customer's fault, with the customer documenting the leak and repair before an adjustment.

The district's written policy did not require that documentation. The AG recommended changing it because, without evidence about the leak and repair, the district could not know their nature or cost. The opinion connected the issue to Louisiana's constitutional bar on donating public funds, warning that a credit without evidence the leak was caused by the district would be tantamount to such a donation. Its conclusion concerned this district's policy as written, not every possible leak-billing arrangement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. 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

Could the district adjust a water bill after a leak?

The AG said the district could have a leak-credit policy for damage not caused by the customer, with documentation of the leak and repair before an adjustment. It found the policy submitted to it deficient on documentation.

Why did proof of repair matter?

The AG said the district otherwise would not know the nature of the leak or the repair cost. It warned that an unsupported credit could amount to a donation of public funds.

Did the AG approve the district's policy as written?

No. The policy did not require the customer to document the leak and repair, and the AG recommended adding that condition.

Background and statutory framework

The request came through counsel for Rapides Parish Waterworks District No. 3. The opinion cited the Louisiana Constitution's prohibition on donating public funds and an earlier AG opinion on leak adjustments. It referred to La. Atty. Gen. Op. 03-155 for the need to document leaks and repairs, while its footnote identified the earlier opinion as No. 03-0155. The present opinion applied those principles to a policy lacking proof before a credit.

Citations

• Art. VII, Sec 14 of Louisiana Constitution (public-funds restriction identified in the opinion's footnote).
• La. Atty. Gen. Op. 03-155 / Attorney General Opinion No. 03-0155 (prior leak-credit opinion, cited in two forms in the source).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0319

Original opinion text

November 9, 2005
Opinion Number 05-0319

172-A Water Districts
Mr. Gregory L. Jones
A water district is authorized to implement a credit
Attorney at Law
policy/adjustment for water leaks only in instances
where the damage was not the fault of a customer
P. O. Box 4478
and the customer documents the repair prior to
Pineville, LA 71361
receiving an adjustment.

Dear Mr. Jones:

Your request for an Attorney General opinion on behalf of Rapides Parish Waterworks District No. 3 was forwarded to me for research and reply. Your inquiry as I understand it is, whether the District’s policy addressing adjustments for water leaks as written, is in compliance with current state law?

Generally, there is a prohibition against the loan, pledge or donation of public funds, property or things of value to any person, association or corporation, public or private.1 However, a water district is authorized to implement a credit policy for water leaks only in instances where the damage was not the fault of the customer.2 Please also see La. Atty. Gen. Op. 03-155 where we opined that a customer who has a leak must document all leaks and repairs prior to receiving an adjustment.

The District’s credit policy, as written, does not require documentation of the leak and repairs by the customer before adjustments can be made. Therefore, we recommend that the District modify its policy to require such. Otherwise, the District will not know the nature of and cost to repair the leak. Without evidence that the leak was caused by the District, a credit would be tantamount to a donation of public funds.

We hope this opinion has sufficiently addressed your concerns. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: ___
CHARLENE PATTERSON
Assistant Attorney General
/cp
enclosure

1
Art. VII, Sec 14 of Louisiana Constitution.
2
Attorney General Opinion No. 03-0155

Page 2

Gregory L. Jones
Opinion No. 05-0319
Page 2 of 2

OPINION 05-0319

172-A Water Districts
A water district is authorized to implement a credit policy/adjustment for water leaks only in instances where the damage was not the fault of a customer and the customer documents the repair prior to receiving an adjustment.

Mr. Gregory L. Jones
Attorney at Law
P. O. Box 4478
Pineville, LA 71361

Date Received:
Date Released: November 9, 2005

CHARLENE PATTERSON
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL