Customer Service FAQs

Yes, the District has a drive-up payment drop box located in the front lobby parking area at the end of the driveway. You may place payments in this box at anytime; however, all payments deposited after 7:30 am will not be posted to your account until the following business day.

If payment must be posted to your account by 4:00 pm the day you are making your payment in order to prevent interruption of your service, please do not place the payment in the drop box since it will not post to your account until the following business day.

Also, the District does not recommend any customer placing cash in this box, as this payment method cannot be tracked. Please only deposit checks or money orders in this box.

Yes, there are several methods the District allows to eliminate the need for a deposit:

Auto Pay: New customers that sign up and maintain Auto Pay for a minimum of 18 months can have the deposit waived.
Good Payment History: New customers can provide a recent payment history (must be in the name of the account holder) from a previous utility (only water, gas, sewer, or electric) that an account was/is satisfactorily maintained.
Credit Check: New customers can choose to have a soft credit check conducted to determine the appropriate deposit amount. If the customer’s credit rating is deemed Low Risk, the deposit can be waived. There is a $5.00 credit check fee added to the account at the time the credit check is processed.

Water meters are calibrated by the manufacturer according to strict federal and state weights & measures standards. The District will only replace a meter when supporting evidence shows the meter is not functioning properly. Water meters are simple mechanical devices, similar to your car’s odometer, and will not record any usage unless water is moving through it to your property.

The District does offer a meter testing service and a $50.00 fee will be collected from customers that wish to have the test conducted. The District encourages customers to be present and witness the test which is conducted at the District yard in Lake Elsinore. If the meter tests within specifications, then the $50.00 fee is retained by the District. If the meter fails, then the customer is refunded the $50.00 fee.

No, deposits can be billed to customers over several months.

Yes, the District has two automated systems that can be accessed 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week for your convenience.

The first system is accessed using any phone by calling 951-674-3146 and selecting Option 1 (Customer Service) from the main menu. You will presented with the options to hear your account information, after which you can make a payment and listen to more detailed information.

The second system is web based and is accessed on the home page of the District’s website by clicking on “My Account.” On our web site, customers can make payments, set up payment profiles, sign up for auto pay and print copies of their bills.

In 2015, EVMWD introduced the Rate Assistance for Residents of Elsinore Valley (RARE) to assist low income customers with the water bill at their primary residence. Customers must meet the income and water use criteria as outline in the program qualifications. Funds for the RARE program are available through unrestricted funds.

No, the District does not pay interest to customers that have a deposit on file. Any deposits on file will be applied towards the account as a credit after 18 months of good payment history or applied to the final bill when the account is closed.

All policies that govern the actions of the District’s customer service staff can be found within the District’s Administrative Code. Click here to view these policies.

Customers may call during normal business hours and speak with a customer service representative, who will assist in setting up the new account over the phone. Or, customers can submit a written application via email.

Click here for a detailed explanation of how to read your bill.

A water meter is a simple mechanically driven device that will only record usage when water passes through it to your property. Water flows into the meter’s measuring chamber where it drives a piston. A drive mechanism transmits the motion of the piston to a drive magnet located within the sealed register, which causes the units on register face to advance.

All meters within the District are read remotely via our Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). AMI eliminates the need to send a meter reader to your property, reducing CO2 emissions which directly reduces EVMWD’s carbon footprint. In addition, AMI eliminates the potential of misreading a meter as human error is not a factor. To learn more about how meters are read, click here.

As a general rule the District bills rate payers once a month.  All customer accounts are divided into 12 billing cycles.  Click here to view your billing cycle schedule.

In some cases the District will be able to assist a customer by re-rating only the water charge on the bill.   

The District calculates the charge for water using a water budget based block rate structure.  This means that the more water a property uses during a billing period the higher the unit charge is for units over a certain amount.  The District has 4 blocks for residential water charges.  The first block usage is priced the lowest and the charge steadily increases until it reaches the fourth block, which is the most expensive.  If a customer has discovered a leak on their property the District will take all of the usage billed on the third and fourth block sand re-rate the usage using the second block rate.   

This re-rate is only possible if the usage during the month in question is at least 100% more than usage during the previous years for the same time period.  Only one adjustment per year will be considered. 

Please click here to find out more about Extraordinary Usage Appeals.

No, the District is not governed by the PUC. As a Special District of the state of California, the District is public agency governed by a publicly elected, 5-member Board of Directors. The Board oversees all action taken by the District and is responsible for approving all policies recommended by staff. The PUC is responsible for overseeing the actions of private utility companies.

Yes, the District takes any damage to District property very seriously. The fine for cutting the lock is $150.00 for the first occurrence and $250 for each additional occurrence for the entire time the account is open. The fine must be paid immediately. If a customer cuts two locks then the meter will be removed from the property and additional charges must be paid in order to have it reinstalled.

Yes. The District requests that new customers provide at least 24 hours notice to initiate service.

The District charges a $10.00 Service Establishment Fee. If the customer requires that service be established the same day they are calling, and they are calling before 2:30 pm, then an additional $50.00 Same Day Service Fee will apply. If the customer is calling after 2:30 pm and require that service be established the same day, then an additional $100.00 After Hours Service Fee will be charged.

Simply call the District during normal business hours and speak with a customer service representative. They will ask you for a forwarding address and set-up an order for your service to be discontinued.

Unfortunately, many customers that were scheduled for interruption or actually had their service interrupted due to non-payment paid their balance to prevent interruption or restore service with checks that were returned by the bank for insufficient funds. This caused the District additional costs associated with collecting those funds.

The District’s policies must be applied equally to all rate payers. Since implementing the policy of not accepting checks after the payment due date and time, the number of checks returned by the bank has decreased.

Customers that make their payment beyond the payment due date are subject to a $5.00 or 5% delinquent charge, whichever is greater.

The District will inform customers of past due balances on their monthly statement. There is a message on the statement that tells the customer when payment must be made in order to avoid additional charges and interruption of service.

Approximately 15 days prior to the scheduled interruption date the District mails a formal Service Interruption Notice to the mailing address and service address on file.

Approximately 7 days prior to the scheduled interruption date, the District conducts a courtesy automated phone notification campaign. Please remember to update the District if your phone number has changed.

If the District is unable to make contact with the customer or an adult person living at the premises of the customer in person or by telephone, the District will make a good faith effort to leave a notice of imminent discontinuation of residential service and a copy of the Discontinuance of Service Policy in a conspicuous place at the service address. The notice will be left at the residence at least forty-eight (48) hours before discontinuation of service. A Delinquent Processing Fee, to be established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors, will be added to the account.

The District accepts payments in cash, money orders, check, American Express, Discover and credit and check cards with the Visa and MasterCard logos.  You may also take advantage of our Auto Pay program which allows you to submit a payment profile utilizing a credit/debit card or checking account to automatically pay your bills on the due date of the bill.

Payments are due within 21 days of the bill date printed on your statement.  Statements are generated on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so therefore, payments are normally due on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays depending on your billing cycle.  Payments received after the due date are subject to a $5.00 or 5% delinquent charge, whichever is greater.

Deposits will be applied to your closing bill balance.  If there is a credit balance on your account, then a refund in the form of a check will mailed to the account holder to the address on file.  It is important to remember to give a forwarding address to ensure any additional correspondence from the District will be properly delivered.

Deposits are automatically returned to the customer 18 months from the date of the last deposit payment provided the customer has maintained a successful payment history.  A successful payment history is defined as having no more than one delinquent charge per year; no returned checks; no bankruptcies filed; and no interruption of service due to non-payment.

You can make any type of payment at the District’s main office in Lake Elsinore.  You can also pay your water bill at any CheckFreePay location, however, please remember EVMWD is not responsible for payments made at any CheckFreePay locations.  Customers may be charged an additional transaction fee by CheckFreePay agent locations and EVMWD will not refund or credit these fees.

You can also access your account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by dialing (951) 674-3146, and choosing the option for customer service; or go to the home page of this website and  select “My Account.”  There is no additional charge for utilizing our phone system or website to make payments.

Generally, your water meter is located in the front of your property near the street in the lawn area or the sidewalk.  The meter is enclosed in a meter box that is covered by either a green plastic or a concrete cover.

The District is responsible for leaks from the water main up to and including the water meter.  Any leaks from the meter to the home or building are the owner’s responsibility.

As a public agency, the District must minimize chances of incurring unpaid balances since it can eventually impact all customers in the form of higher rates.  The District must insist on payment for the full balance prior to restoring the service, or to prevent service from being interrupted if the indicated due date and time have passed.

Approximately 2% of the District’s customers are interrupted for non-payment on a monthly basis.  The goal of the District is to reduce this number to less than 1%, so staff time can be focused on issues that impact a majority of our customers.

For FY2022, there were 13,831 delinquent turn offs.