Washington Water occasionally receives reports that scammers pretending to represent Washington Water are targeting customers by phone, by email, or in person. The information below will help you identify and avoid some common scams.

Phone Scams

• Scammers can “spoof” a company phone number, meaning that your phone’s caller ID may show that the call is coming from “Washington Water” or “Washington Water Service,” even if it is not.
• Some scammers use automated voice-response systems similar to those used by legitimate pay-by-phone services.
• Washington Water will never ask you to pay your bill using gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, or money transfers.
• Washington Water never shuts off water service for non-payment outside of normal business hours. A delinquent account’s service will not be shut off during the night nor on a weekend.
• If a suspicious automated call asks you to push buttons on your phone for any reason (even to stop future calls), just hang up the phone. Pushing a button on your phone lets the automated system know it reached a live person.
• If you have received a scam call, write down the phone number it came from and contact us immediately so that Washington Water is aware of the situation. The Federal Trade Commission and FCC also have online forms for reporting these types of scams.

Email Scams

• Scammers can use a fake email address, meaning that a fraudulent email may appear to come from Washington Water, even if it does not.
• Washington Water will never ask you to pay your bill using gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, or money transfers.
• Washington Water will never send you an email with an attachment unless you have requested one.
• Washington Water will never ask you to make an online payment on any web site other than the site linked to on the www.wawater.com home page.
• Washington Water never shuts off water service for non-payment outside of normal business hours. A delinquent account’s service will not be shut off during the night nor on a weekend.
• If you have received a scam email, contact us immediately so that Washington Water is aware of the situation. We may ask you to forward the email to us so that we can investigate it further.

In-Person Scams

• All Washington Water employees carry identification with their photo, name, and the Washington Water logo.
• All Washington Water trucks have the Washington Water logo on the door.
• Washington Water will never ask you to pay your bill using gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, or money transfers.
• Washington Water will never visit your home and ask you to pay your bill using cash or a check.
• Washington Water employees will never visit your home to request access to test your water or check your pipes without making a prior arrangement.
• Washington Water never shuts off water service for non-payment outside of normal business hours. A delinquent account’s service will not be shut off during the night nor on a weekend.
• If you are approached by a questionable person claiming to work for Washington Water, call us immediately so that Washington Water is aware of the situation.

Useful links

• Federal Trade Commission: Report Fraud
• Federal Communications Commission Consumer Help Center
• FCC Consumer Alert: Utilities Call Scam

Hardness is a measure of the magnesium, calcium, and carbonate minerals in water. Water is considered soft if total hardness is less than 75 ppm, moderately hard at 75 to 150 ppm, hard at 150 to 300 ppm, and very hard at 300 ppm or higher. To convert the hardness of your water from parts per million to grains per gallon, simply divide by 17.1.

Water’s hardness varies with its source. Hard water is not harmful to health, so the choice to buy a water softener is an aesthetic one. However, people on low-sodium diets should be aware that many water softeners increase the sodium content of the water.

The hardness of your water is listed in your annual water quality report.

At Washington Water, we conduct periodic flushing as part of our ongoing water quality and water system maintenance program. By opening certain fire hydrants under controlled conditions, we remove minerals and sediment that build up in water lines over time.

This improves water quality and increases the amount of water that can flow through the water lines.

Although it may seem wasteful to the casual observer, flushing is actually an important and necessary water utility activity that is endorsed by the American Water Works Association and conducted in accordance with guidelines set by the Washington State Department of Health.

You will continue to receive water while we are flushing, but the pressure might be lowered temporarily. If you notice any discoloration and/or sediment in your water after we have flushed, please allow water to run from your outside hose bib until it clears.

In some of our service areas, water sources change at certain times of the year due to the availability of supplies. Surface water, or water that comes from sources like rivers and lakes, tends to taste slightly different than water pumped from underground aquifers.

Dirt or sand can occur naturally in groundwater or as a result of a water line repair. We try to reduce the instances of dirt or sand in the water through regular flushing, which improves water quality by increasing the circulation of water in the pipes and removing most of the sediment from the water.

Chlorine is typically added to your water for disinfection purposes (to kill any bacteria that may be present), but can also be used as an oxidant to remove odors such as naturally-occurring hydrogen sulfide (“rotten eggs”) or as an aid in the iron and manganese removal process. To reduce any chlorine taste or smell, try refrigerating your water before drinking. If the chlorine odor or taste is unusually high (i.e., not normal for your water system), please Contact Us and we will check into it.

Disinfectants are required because they prevent the spread of germs that cause diseases. Years ago, before disinfectants were used for drinking water, diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery were common. Drinking water disinfection has vastly improved the quality and safety of drinking water.

Washington Water conducts regular water system flushing to remove any mineral build-up and sediment from the pipes and also to ensure that water circulates adequately throughout the system. Fire hydrants may also be opened to conduct fire-flow capability tests.

Tap water providers and bottled water providers must meet the same water quality standards. In fact, tap water providers are required to conduct more frequent water quality testing and reporting than bottled water providers. Some consumers prefer the taste of bottled water, and some choose bottled water because they have special health needs. But tap water is a much better deal, costing 1,000 times less than bottled water.

Color in water is usually caused by naturally occurring organic matter, minerals, or mineral build-up in the pipes. At Washington Water, we flush our water systems regularly to clean mineral build-up and other sediment from the pipes. If you receive discolored water, you should let your faucets run until the water is clear. Such substances typically do not pose a health hazard; however, we ask that you please Contact Us about any instances of discolored water so that we may investigate.