BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Water Board has collected approximately $5 million in overdue water bills in just three months, offsetting a planned 11% rate hike for customers that was due to start on July 1.
Since mid-March, Buffalo Water has been actively pursuing customers who owed more than $1,000 for more than 12 months. Buffalo Water Board Chair Brian A. Gould said roughly 12% of their 75k customers met that criteria.
"This was a thought-out process," Gould said. "We wanted proper notifications sent because this hasn't been done in years."
Gould was appointed to the Water Board in early 2025 during his time as Buffalo's deputy mayor under Christopher Scanlon. He quickly discovered the extent of the arrears.
"It was about 58% of customers paying for 100% of the system, and that's not only not fair, but it's not sustainable," Gould explained.
WATCH: Buffalo Water Board collects $5M in overdue bills, averting planned rate hike
THE PROCESS
As part of the collection efforts, Gould told me customers were notified up to five times within 90 days.
Most of those contacted paid up. However, around 1,200 customers (approximately 2%) did not, and their water service was temporarily shut off as a result. But Gould said all have since had their service restored after either paying their balance in full or enrolling in a payment plan.
There have been 1,900 payment plans established since March.
"If you call us and you have $20 to put on your bill, you're not gonna be shut off," Gould explained.
But the former deputy mayor said shutoffs are not the goal.
"Our intent is not to shut customers' water off. Our intent is to get customers to - in a fair and equitable way - pay for the water service they're provided so the rest of the customers aren't subsidizing the service," Gould explained.
And the overdue bills came from across the city, including some of the most affluent addresses.
"This is not just economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. It's South Buffalo, North Buffalo, it's Bidwell, it's Chapin," Gould said.
While the rate hike has been averted for now, Gould is not ruling out future increases within the upcoming fiscal year.
Further hikes are likely in light of a federal mandate known as the 'lead and copper rule,' which requires all lead service lines to be replaced by 2037. With an estimated 50,000 lead service lines in Buffalo, Gould estimates that the project could cost more than $1 billion.
