Frequently Asked Questions



FAQ

On this page we have collected the most popular questions, so that you could easily find the answer for almost any question you may have.

  • Where is Easton Suburban Water Authority located?
  • What are your office hours?
  • Will a late payment affect my credit?
  • Why is my bill so high?
  • What is a "unit" of water?
  • If there is a water leak in my home, will I get credit for the wasted water?
  • I'm moving. Can I transfer my account or do I have to set up a new one?
  • If Easton Suburban Water Authority is going to be working on a water line in my area, will I be notified?
  • Do your service men and women have Easton Suburban Water Authority identification?
  • Where does my water come from?
  • Once my meter is installed, will I ever need to change it?
  • What is an MID and do I need one?
  • I've heard that MID's give off radiation. Is that true?
  • Why do I have cloudy or discolored water? Why does my water smell or taste funny?
  • Is there fluoride in my water?
  • Do I need a water softener?
  • Why do you sometimes open a hydrant and let the water run out? Isn't that a waste of good water?

Our main office is at 3700 Hartley Avenue in Palmer Township. But we operate the Easton Water Treatment Plant as well as own several storage tanks, pump houses and other facilities located throughout the Townships of Palmer, Forks, Bethlehem, Williams and Lower Nazareth, and the Boroughs of Wilson, West Easton, Glendon and the City of Easton. For more information, visit Service Area or Directions.

Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We are not open on Saturdays.
Billing
No. One late payment will not affect your credit rating. However, if you have a history of paying your water bill late, it may impact your credit in the future.
An unusually high water bill could be caused by a number of factors: increased water demand, a leak in your water system, faulty equipment, or a mis-read meter reading. If you have a question about the amount of your bill, contact our office at 610-258-7181 to request a review of your usage.
A unit of water is 750 gallons. We invoice customers per unit of water used.
No. We invoice for the usage of all water that registers on our meters. If you suspect a leak in your system, contact our office at 610-258-7181 immediately.
Service

If you are planning to move, please notify us of your anticipated move date and a forwarding address so we can complete your final meter reading and send you your ending bill. If you are moving to a location within our service area, you will need to sign up for service as a new customer. For more information on how to sign up for new service, click here.

Yes, if at all possible. When we plan to work on a line in your area, we mail a letter, hang a door hanger notice, email or call using our telephone messaging system. If there is an emergency situation such as a main break or other problem that requires us to work on a line in your area, however, we cannot always provide you with advance notification. To update your phone number & email address, email info@eswater.net.

Absolutely. All of our staff members are required to carry a card that identifies them as an Easton Suburban Water Authority employee. It is rare that an Easton Suburban Water Authority employee would need access to water equipment inside your home, so if someone does, be sure to ask for his or her identification.

Your water is supplied by the Delaware River, treated at the Easton Water Plant, and stored, monitored and delivered to you by Easton Suburban Water Authority. Click for more information about the origin of your water.

Meters
Perhaps. A water meter typically lasts about 20 years. Domestic meters, those that are 5/8" x ½" and meters that are 5/8" x ¾" in size are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be accurate for 20 years. All domestic meters that reach that age will be changed to assure that your meter reading remains accurate. Malfunctioning or damaged meters will be changed sooner, if necessary.
An MID is a device that allows us to read your water meter remotely by a radio frequency. Normally MID's are set near the water meter and are spliced into the wire between the meter and the outside remote. MID's have batteries that have a 20-year life expectancy. An MID that malfunctions or is damaged may need to be changed sooner than 20 years. MID's can only be activated by our meter reading equipment. We turn it on when we want to take a reading and it goes off automatically when the reading is completed. MID's are required for all future meters.
A Sensus MID transmits very miniscule amounts of radio frequency energy significantly below ever-present RF emissions such as TV stations, radio stations, cellular networks, etc. For example, the power output for the latest models of cellular phones is about 250 milliwatts. If you assume a person uses the phone 30 minutes per day, then that individual could be exposed to a RF energy level of 225,000 milliwatt minutes during a 30-day period (250 milliwatts x 30 minutes per day x 30 days = 225,000 milliwatt minutes).

A typical water meter reading occurs once each month, during which the MID can transmit up to four transmissions, typically of a duration of .00063 minutes per transmission. At the power output of 200 milliwatts, the RF transmit energy of the MID over a period of one month will be about 0.5 milliwatt minutes (200 milliwatts x .00063 minutes per transmission x 4 transmissions = 0.5 milliwatt minutes). Compared to the cell phone, the energy output of an MID is 400,000 times less than the average use of a cell phone. The energy emitted by an MID is even less than those fields already present in a typical home (such as cordless phones, TV, radio, microwave).
Quality

If you have water that is unclear, smells or tastes bad, it may mean there could be something wrong with your water. If you would like to report a possible problem with your water, contact our office at 610-258-7181. For more information about water quality issues, click here.

Yes. The water provided to our customers is fluoridated to promote dental health. The Environmental Protection Agency has set an enforceable drinking water standard for fluoride of 4 mg/L and a secondary fluoride standard of 2 mg/L to protect against dental fluorosis. The water provided to our customers has an average concentration of fluoride at approximately 1 mg/L. Please check our Annual Water Quality Report for more information on the levels of fluoride in your drinking water.
No. The water provided by Easton Suburban Water Authority is mid-range in hardness. You should not need to purchase any type of water softening equipment or additive.
Other

We "flush" all water mains at least once a year as part of our Comprehensive Flushing Program to maintain water quality in the distribution system and to remove sediment that accumulates in water mains. Flushing also helps to maximize the effects of corrosion control inhibitors that are added to the water, which prevents the corrosion and deterioration of the water mains. And, flushing enables us to maintain flow characteristics within the water system, which helps maximize fire flows throughout the system.

Easton Suburban Water Authority uses Uni-Directional Flushing to isolate sections of the water system by closing valves. That section of the water system is then flushed using fire hydrants and "blow-off" assemblies -- subsurface hydrants installed where fire hydrants are not located, particularly in cul-de-sacs. We also flush sections of the water system occasionally in response to customer complaints or other issues that may arise.

When we perform Comprehensive Flushing of the water system, we notify customers by our reverse telephone system with a general schedule of when that section of the water system will be flushed. We then publish the daily flushing schedule on our telephone system and website each day by 4:00pm so that customers in that section can find out exactly what days we will be flushing their streets. The telephone system message can be reached by calling 610.258.7181, and the website can be accessed by clicking here.


Have a question not answered above? We'll be happy to provide an answer. Please type your question below and click the submit button. We'll get back to you with an answer as quickly as possible.