DC Water sent out an email to the area listservs promoting a series of “Town Hall Meetings” to be held once in each Ward. If you drink water or bathe, and then follow that up by paying a water bill each month, you might be interested in going to one of these meetings. Also a good opportunity to ask DC Water staff questions on billing, infrastructure concerns, lead pipe remediation, etc.

Ward 4’s meeting is on Thursday, April 5th at the Paul Public Charter School (5800 8th Street NW) from 6:30pm - 8:30pm.

Basically, DC Water needs to raise rates to help cover costs to for the Clean Rivers Project, as well as updating the old water pipes throughout the city. When you attend one of the Town Halls, you can provide comments that will be given later to DC Water’s Board of Directors for their May meeting (and July vote on raising rates). You can also sign up to testify at their hearings. Especially important if you represent a church or cemetery and you’re paying thousands of dollars a month for the Impervious Area Charge.

DC Water will have staff on-hand at the Town Halls to answer questions and address concerns on other topics such as water quality, water conservation, wastewater treatment, construction projects, infrastructure maintenance and emergency repairs, community outreach, DC Clean Rivers Project, employment opportunities, and billing.

Below is the list of scheduled meetings, biased to start with Ward 4:

Ward 4
Date: Thursday, April 5th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: Paul Public Charter School - Auditorium (5800 8th St NW)

Ward 1
Date: Thursday, March 29th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: DC Housing Finance Agency, Auditorium (815 Florida Avenue NW)

Ward 2
Date: Tuesday, March 27th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens, Auditorium (2425 N St NW)

Ward 3
Date: Tuesday, April 3rd (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: University of the District of Columbia Student Center, Ballroom A (200 Connecticut Ave NW)

Ward 5
Date: Thursday, April 19th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: Trinity University Main Hall, O'Connor Auditorium (125 Michigan Ave NE)

Ward 6
Date: Tuesday, April 17th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: Payne Elementary School, Gymnasium (1445 C St SE)

Ward 7
Date: Thursday, April 26th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: IDEA Public Charter School, Cafeteria (1027 45th St NE)

Ward 8
Date: Tuesday, April 24th (6:30pm-8:30pm)
Location: Matthews Memorial Baptist Church (2616 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE)