ALL unpaid water bills below or above $20 in the current quarter is deemed outstanding in the next quarter and liable for disconnection, says Water Authority of Fiji team leader corporate communications Fulori Turaga.
In clarifying the rules of disconnection following concerns raised by a group of customers in the north, Mrs Turaga said while there was no certain period set for disconnection, customers needed to pay their bills by the due date.
This was because the period after the due date fell in the next quarter which warranted disconnection, even a day after the due date.
Mrs Turaga said the authority would reconnect water meters within a period of 24 hours upon bill payments. "There is no duration for disconnection," she said.
"Otherwise as soon as a customer pays their bill it should be reconnected within a period of 24 hours from the time of payment when payments are made at our WAF offices.
"In the event payments are made to our agents, it will take 24 hours to update our system then meters will be reconnected. However, if the customer advises us of details of payment we will reconnect within the 24-hour period."
Some customers in Labasa had complained that despite owing $12 to WAF, their water connection was disconnected a day after due date.
Hari Prasad, a customer, said his water meter was disconnected by WAF workers this week without any notice. He claimed he was only given four days to pay his bill including the reconnection fee of $10, which according to him was expensive.
Mrs Turaga said the reconnection fee of $10 was a penalty for not paying bills on time.
"All bills whether above $20 or below that is unpaid in the current quarter are deemed outstanding in the next quarter and are liable for disconnection."