Frequently Asked Questions...
Customer Service:
Q. Where do I pay my water bill and/or how do I establish a new account?
A.
To establish a new account in the Citrus County Utilities Service
Area, you must go to the billing office located at: 2416 N. Essex Ave., Hernando, Florida 34442 (in the Hampton Square Plaza). They
can be reached at (352)746-2460 or 1-866-746-2460. You will need
to fill out an application, provide a copy of your Driver's
License, and pay the appropriate deposit fee.
You can now check your customer account information.
Q. How are the county water and sewer rates established?
A.
The Board of County Commissioners establishes water and sewer
rates at a level sufficient to cover the cost of system operations,
maintenance, and debt service.; No tax dollars are used to fund
the system's operation and all fees collected are used solely
for the benefit of the water and wastewater system.
Q. How can we get water, sewer or reclaimed water service extended to our
neighborhood?
A. The cost of constructing new sewer, water and reclaimed water
lines is covered by the properties that benefit from those lines.
The most common way that the utility's water and sewer lines
are extended is when a subdivision developer makes those improvements
during the construction of the subdivision. The cost of
the utility lines are therefore included in the cost of the
lots.
Public services, such as water
and sewer lines, road paving, sidewalks and drainage improvements,
are generally constructed in existing neighborhoods through
the use of special assessments. In Citrus County, Municipal
Service Benefit Units (MSBU) are created to provide an administrative
and funding mechanism for these projects. The MSBU process
can be used for most types of infrastructure improvements and
is regularly used to extend potable water service.
Q. How does the MSBU process work?
A. When a neighborhood or community wishes to use the special assessment
process to construct public infrastructure improvements, a request
(or petition) must be presented to the Department of Public
Works. After a preliminary estimate of the total and per
unit cost of the project has been made, a survey is mailed to
all properties within the proposed improvement area. If
the survey produces a significant, positive response, the project
may be approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
Special assessment projects are financed by loans or bonds.
A lien is placed on each benefited property as security for
the loan. The amount of the lien is determined at the
end of the project when all of the costs are available.
Property owners may pay all of the assessment when it comes
due, or may make annual payments, usually for a ten year period.
As an example, most of the water lines in Riverhaven were financed
and constructed through the special assessment process. If you
are interested in getting water and/or wastewater service to
your neighborhood, contact our utility office at (352) 527-7650
and we can provide assistance with the process.
Q. Who regulates the water and wastewater utilities?
A. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulates
and permits the operation of Citrus County's water and wastewater
facilities through Chapter 62 of the Florida Administrative
Code. They can be reached in Melbourne at (407) 984-4400
and in Orlando at (407) 894-7555. The South
West Florida Water Management District in Brooksville regulates
the withdrawal of water for public water supplies, they can
be reached at (800) 423-1476. The Office of Utility Regulation
at (352) 527-5452 regulates the rates that private water and
wastewater utilities may charge in Citrus County.
You can contact the Environmental Protection
Agency for more information.
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