Dekalb County Water/Sewer Service

It’s kind of odd to rate a gov entity because obviously — there is nothing we can do to change anything to make it better in the near term. I am like others that recently moved to Dekalb from Fulton (Fulton is a dream in comparison). Previous owners were quick to shut off their water. I emailed all my paperwork in day after closing. I received auto response that it was received. When calling to confirm (I am no dummy) they had not received it. There was one person who was great enough to work with me personally and enter all of my information on the same day! THANK YOU! But that didnt help the situation. Because its 1 – 5 business days (sometimes 1 – 3 depending on who you talk to) FROM when the account is set up to have a truck come by to turn it back on. Seems like a lot of waste of resources to turn it off… turn it back on. Luckily I have low flow toilets… Could be 2 weeks total without water at no fault of my own. WARNING if you are moving to Dekalb and buying a home — ask nicely that the previous owners NOT switch off the water on day of closing but give you some time to switch it over… can’t wait to switch over my license and tags…

Dekalb County Water and Sewer should be ashamed of how they treat their customers. Response times to issues are borderline barbaric.
Every employee I have spoken to tells a different lie and refuses to put me in touch with a supervisor. I’m told there is a supervisor named Mr. Kennedy but he will not answer the phone nor return messages (so who knows if he’s even a real person).
I’ve been without water for 6 days now and I don’t believe anyone at Dekalb Water and Sewer is ever going to help. Shameful.

Pathetic! Can’t tell you anything. Everything takes 1 – 5 business days. They don’t care at all about you or your situation. You’re better off talking to a wall for answers to basic questions like when will my water be turned on. The answer to everything is 1 – 5 days. Unbelievably sad that I’m paying for this service. Smh.

Dekalb County Water and Sewer should just change their Mission and Vision to We give you the best SEWAGE in all departments, from customer service, to service calls, to billing, to anything that closely resembles HELP.
They not only have a system the defrauds thousands, and I do mean thousands of customers monthly, but their employees are trained in a system of ask but don’t tell; Don’t tell the customers anything about their bill, don’t explain anything, and be sure to get them confused as hell about the billing process.
The sad thing is that we really don’t have a choice and until we all rise up… we are all at a loss.
SMH… and this what our tax dollars are paying for.

I was scared to call after the DeKalb County Water Dept due to the horrible reviews I read… but I tried my luck. I called at 5:20 pm and got a live person, Adriane Glass. I needed to change my last name (I got married 3 years ago and never changed my last name on this account). I am now renting my house to a relative and my current last name (used on the lease) did not match their records, so they would not switch over the water service to my relative. Adriane Glass was professional, courteous and accommodating (when I didn’t have a fax machine to fax over my marriage license, she accepted an email copy). She said if I email it over right now she will change the name on the account today. I can’t wait to see if this actually happens! Fingers crossed…
Kim T

These guys make the cable company look competent by comparison. They are clueless, their phone systems and web site hail from 1995, and they exhibit the customer service capabilities of a dungeon torture master. Their service agents are apparently subject to being waterboarded if they ever tell a consistent story.
I closed on a new house 17 days ago and sent in all of my water paperwork that day. They claim to have never received my application, so I faxed it again a week later. They received it this time, but I’ve been told multiple versions of when it was received, when the work order was submitted, and when the service will be turned on.
I’ve spoken to three different people today alone and have been told three different things. The first person told me to call back after 2pm if the water wasn’t on so that they could contact their field people and make sure that the service was turned on today. I called twice after 2pm, and both times the agent refused to do what the first person promised. And still I have no water. Grrrr! Looks like I’ll be peeing in the bushes and showering at LA Fitness for the foreseeable future.

What a HORRIFIC telephone CUSTOMER SERVICE system! I just want to turn my water off because I am moving. I get an automated response system which boasts that I can now speak with a LIVE PERSON with extended hours, then only gives me the automated option!
Then once connected to the automated options, it has NO OPTION to suspend my service.
Good Lord!

Just terrible. Billing is difficult, sewer rates are maddening. even if you use hardly any water, you will still face a whopper of a bill. asking questions? good luck with that. Arg

The Dekalb County water service is the most horrible example of terrible service from a governmental agency that I have ever experienced. I have been attempting to turn on my water at a house I am buying, and I needed some assistance. One listed telephone number does not allow you to speak to a live representative. I found another telephone number which did allow that option, and I was told that I was «number 20» in line. I waited over an hour on hold. When I finally got to speak with an operator, she hung up on me! It is a travesty. I wish I could find out who is responsible for running this agency, so as a soon to be Dekalb resident, I could vote them out. If this were a private corporation, they would be out of business. It is disgusting and unforgivable. We were able to turn on every other utility over the phone. Their system is antiquated and horribly user unfriendly.

First, you’ll need a certificate from a plumber that says the toilets are low-​flow to get an account. Start asking your landlord or the seller of your home for this early on because you’ll need it to get the water account changed into your name. If you are purchasing a house without low-​flow toilets, you will need to have them replaced before you can get a permit. Good to know, as you can put this requirement in the sales contract when purchasing a home. Once you have that, it’s easy to walk into this office with your application (forms online), proof you rent or live there, and walk out with a permit. The workers are friendly and helpful.
Parking lots and street parking are always full or restricted to employee parking so park in the multi-​story parking deck across the street and pay the $ 6 fee. Another problem is their phone system. It is not possible to speak with someone if you have a question; you have to trot down there and stand in line just to ask a simple question. If it was not for this phone problem I would probably rate the process 4 Stars or better.

The main problem with writing a review is that we have no other company to switch to for service! For 2 billing cycles, we received bills which were almost tripled. We tried to contacted the water/​sewer company (which was not easy to do), and went in person to speak face to face. After the company asked for us to jump through hoops to defend ourselves and make sure we didn’t have a leak or major issue on our end, they agreed to have a new meter installed. Then the next bill received was miraculously more accurate before the new meter was even installed. If you ask me, this all seems like a red flag for a great money making scheme for DeKalb County. I made a post on Facebook and found out that others had similar problems in DeKalb County… hmmmmmm… The Public Service Commission does not handle water/​sewer so where can we go next? Doesn’t seem like anyone gives a care except those of us who are being ripped off. Sucks. Wish I could click on a negative star rating. Guess we could move out of DeKalb County?

This is the most incompetent government agency I have ever dealt with. I closed on a home Friday. I contacted the water company in order to have the service transferred into my name (the water was already on). I maneuvered the automated system which kept hanging up on me and then sat on hold for 1.5 hours. Finally someone picked up and I was told to fax the application, a copy of my id, and the HUD from the purchase of the home. I spent another hour trying to fax the documents to their busy fax line. Finally, late Friday it was done.
Monday afternoon I called to confirm that my paperwork was received. I again sat on hold for over an hour. I was told that everything was fine and that they had received my paperwork. I was told that they had transferred the account to my name. They asked if the water needed to be turned on or if it was already on. Since the water was on all weekend I informed them that the water was already on. I was then told that someone would still come out to read the meter.
Monday night when I got home the damn water was OFF. Apparently Monday morning when I was at work they turned my water OFF!!! Even though my paperwork was received. Even though the account was transferred into my name. I am now sitting in a house with no water 2 days before Thanksgiving with family coming into town.
S*** Heads! :P

Services run hot and cold but it is better than toting buckets.
I’m so glad that I don’t have to haul buckets from the branch like my grandparents did. It is great to have steady running water at the house but if Unilocal had a button that flickered between 1 and 5 I’d use it.
They do things that make me crazy, About 18 months ago, after they voted for a rate hike, they started just charging everyone for 20 000 gallons. Several of my bull-​doging clients went down to fight it and didn’t make any headway. My neighbor got his water cut off because he couldn’t afford it. So the neighbor has been getting water out of my faucet for a long time and hopes to get it cut back on next month. When I talked to a county commissioner, she was no help and assured me that other places, like the local pools had REAL problems.
I usually pay my bill in person and the service there is usually quick and friendly with a few exceptions.