WAMU | JAN 8, 5:12 PM

Can D.C. Shut Off The White House’s Water For Unpaid Bills?
Jacob Fenston

The federal government owns a lot of sinks, faucets and toilets in the District of Columbia, where 195,000 government employees wash their hands, fill up their water bottles and flush their waste on a daily basis.

The government is the largest water customer in the city, and because of the ongoing federal shutdown, its water bill is past due. The large unpaid bill left DC Water officials wondering what their options are, and whether turning off water to the White House is among them.

“We received an email Wednesday, January 2, from an individual at the bureau of fiscal services at the treasury,” said Matthew Brown, chief financial officer at DC Water, speaking during the water authority’s first board meeting of the year. He went on to read from the email: the federal government would not be paying $5 million of its $16.5 million quarterly water bill. ... “That brings up an interesting question,” responded DC Water board chairman Tommy Wells. “Is there a time from nonpayment when we cut someone’s water off?” ... “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is that what you’re talking about?” asked another board member, to laughter.

Under D.C. law, the water authority may shut off water to a customer for nonpayment after 30 days. After 60 days, a lien can be placed on the property in question, until full payment is made. Residential customers are charged a 10 percent fee for late payment (plus a $100 shut-off fee if water service has been turned off).
....

This story originally appeared at WAMU.