Frequently Asked Questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS LIST:
I am selling my home that has a Luckiamute Meter – what do I need to do?
Luckiamute has a form called a Transfer of Service that is required to be completed when a person is selling their property and their meter to a new owner. You will need to contact the office to have this form sent out to you. There is a fee associated with the Transfer of Service – at this time it is $250.00 per service. This fee is typically paid by the new owner.
This form confirms that you are selling the meter to the new owner and that the new owner is purchasing the meter.
When you prepare to sell you home, please make sure you notify the potential new owner that the home is served by Luckiamute Water. Very often the new owner is unaware until they receive the paperwork from us.
How to change my ACH account number:
Mail in a copy of a voided check from the new account with a note asking the office to please change the current information to the new account information. This cannot be done over the phone. This provides us with written verification that you are requesting the change
Do we accept Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Debit cards?
We do not accept cards of any kind at this time.
Where can I get Account balance information?
A great number of calls are inquiring about account balances. If you have access to a computer, our Billing Portal is a great resource for information about your account. It provides you with your account balance, your usage for the last 6 months on the first screen and the ability to print your bills for the last 5 years, as well as the ability to enroll in paperless billing (which you still receive a pdf file attached to your notification of billing) and the ability to enroll in auto pay. If you pay through the portal monthly, that payment is deducted on the 15th of each month. If you enroll with Auto pay, that payment is deducted on the 5th of each month.
How do I sign up for the ACH (Automated Clearing House) Program?
The ACH (Automated Clearing House) Program is a direct debit program that allows our bank to deduct your water bill amount directly from your bank the 5th of every month. There is a form to sign up for this service on the Forms page or you can sign up directly through the Billing Portal. In most instances, the ACH payments are processed on the 5th of each month with the funds deducted from your bank on the 6th of each month unless the 5th of the month falls on the weekend. Then it is processed as close to that date as possible.
How do I sign up for new service?
AT THIS TIME, LUCKIAMUTE DOMESTIC WATER COOPERATIVE IS NOT GRANTING ANY NEW SERVICES OR ACCEPTING ANY NEW APPLICATIONS.
What if I have a leak?
1. The first thing a member should do is repair the leak.
2. The next step would be to call the LDWC Office at (503) 838-2075 to report that a leak had occurred and that it has been repaired.
3. In 2005 the Board of Directors created a Leak Credit Policy that allows a member to apply for leak credit consideration. There are requirements for this consideration which can be found on the Leak Credit Policy on the Forms tab. To summarize, the leak must be after the meter, underground or otherwise undetectable and must be repaired within a reasonable time typically within 5 business days. The leak credit application must be submitted within 30 days of the leak repair for Board consideration; the Board grants a percentage of the leak portion of the bill for one month’s billing and a member is only allowed one leak credit in a twelve-month billing cycle. Please remember to include photos of the leak and/or a copy of the repair bill with your application. Both are appreciated but at least one of these items is required to be submitted with the leak credit application.
How do I read my meter?
There is a guide to reading your meter on the forms page. To summarize, take a flashlight with you to your meter, open your meter box, open the meter lid and flash the light over the meter face. The display should come up with your current reading. After that there will be the word RATE in the left-hand side of the display with a number. You want that number to be 0.00 – which is the number of gallons per minute going through your meter. Some readings can say 0.08 or 0.10 – which is 0.08 gallons per minute. You would find this reading for a dripping faucet or something similar.
How do I adjust a newly installed Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)?
Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV) are sent from the factory at 55psi. If you have experienced high pressure then install a PRV, you will notice a great reduction in pressure after a new PRV is installed.
You can adjust it by following the instructions on the form added to the Forms page.
You will note that the PRV’s can only be adjusted to a maximum pressure of 75psi through the PRV. This is to protect your pipes and appliances in your home. Our website has instructions for making an adjustment to your PRV.
Can I put the billing in a renter’s name?
Our policy is as follows: Effective January 1, 2007 all correspondence and billings for meters, water used, and penalties will be to the member holding the account or to their legal representative as identified in a letter to LDWC. The Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative lists all accounts under the name of the homeowner, as stated in the Water Users Agreement in accordance with the By-laws set forth. The LDWC will no longer bill individuals identified as renters by the member.
What is the Special Assessment fee?
We have had many calls in the past regarding the special assessment fee for our water system improvement project. We would like to point out that discussion of the water system improvements has occurred at nearly every monthly LDWC Board Meeting (all open to the membership) since 2017. The specific improvements were discussed at the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting.
As we noted in our direct letter to all LDWC Members in August 2019, which brought several Members to the September 2019 Board Meeting to ask questions and make comments, the improvements to the system are extensive. We are being most diligent to ensure that this 50-year-old water cooperative is viable for another 50 years.
This project was noted again in our December 2020 newsletter (and in several billing notes). In the first newsletter in 2019 we anticipated a cost of $4 million, with an assessment of $15-$20 a month for the life of the loan.
As noted in the memo that went to all members in June of 2023, we had hoped to be able to hold the assessment to $14 a month. When we received the bid results in May 2023, the bid total exceeded the $4 million dollars we had budgeted which left us with no other choice but to increase the special assessment by $5.00 per member to $19.00 per month.
This is a 29-year loan, and we anticipate that we will be paying on it for the full time.
How do I fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors?
Directors of this Cooperative shall be elected in the following manner:
After receiving notice of the expiration of the term of any director which is announced in the Winter Newsletter, any member or designated representative of a member of the Cooperative who is current in all obligations to the Cooperative may qualify as a candidate to fill the announced vacancy in the following manner: any member or designated representative of a member may submit a short biography statement (500 words or less: Who you are, what your background is, why you want to run) for the ballot.
The application must be received at Luckiamute’s office, 8585 Suver Road, Monmouth, Oregon during ordinary business hours not less than 60 days prior to the annual meeting of the members. All applications shall be marked with the date and time of receipt by the Cooperative and referred to the Board of Directors who may, in cases of contest; consult with an attorney for the Cooperative for determination of qualification, together with such information as would be helpful in making the determination. The judgment of the Board of Directors as to qualification of the applicant and the application shall be final.