Marshall County Public Service District No. 4 and the Marshall County Sewer Authority have reached an agreement for terminating water service for customers delinquent on their bills, according to documents provided by the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

According to the termination agreement, the sewer authority had been having trouble collecting delinquent sewer fees because it was unable to enforce payment through terminating sewer service to delinquent customers. This new agreement will allow that to happen.

According to the agreement, after the PSD receives a written request from the sewer authority concerning customers at least 60 days late on their bill, the water company will discontinue service to that delinquent customer within three days — up to six days if there’s a large number of termination requests or other scheduling problems. The water will stay off until the sewer authority notifies the PSD in writing that the customer either paid the bill in full or set up a payment plan.

The sewer authority will pay the PSD a termination fee and a reconnection fee for the services, and the delinquent customer will reimburse the sewer authority for those fees.

According to the agreement, the sewer authority will provide the PSD a working telephone number to which the PSD can refer customers to inquire about a service shutoff. It’s the sewer authority’s responsibility to promptly answer complaints, as well as its responsibility to collect all delinquent sewer bills.