Town suspends water shut-offs during virus crisis

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough to swallow, tap water in La Conner will still flow uninterrupted.

Town Council members last week amended a municipal ordinance to reflect Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency proclamation suspending water shut-offs for failure to pay.

The state measure, which was issued last spring and is intended to “help preserve and maintain life, health, property and the public peace,” has been extended three times in response to the ongoing COVID-19 threat.

The local ordinance, which includes a repayment plan for water customers who have been unable to pay their bill due to the pandemic, goes into effect Oct. 1, Town Administrator Scott Thomas said.

“This is a provision that allows us to comply with the governor’s order not to cut off water service during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Thomas.

“We’re trying to do what we can to help people who find themselves in a bad situation through no fault of their own,” he added. “Some accounts have fallen behind because of circumstances like lost jobs and lay-offs.”

The action is similar to those elsewhere in the state, Thomas said.

“This isn’t uncommon,” he said. “Pretty much everybody is sensitive to this.”

Customers able to pay their water bills through the pandemic should do so because major disruptions to revenues would create significant operating problems for water systems, Inslee stressed earlier this year.

The state utility shutoff moratorium extends to Oct. 15.