This increase will be reflected in the water bills which the Department of Environmental Protection will send to all buildings on frontage for payment July 1, 2000. The New York City Water Board is a public benefit corporation of the State created by Chapter 515 of the Laws of 1984. Its primary responsibility is to fix, revise, charge, collect and enforce rates and other charges for the water and sewer system. Every year, the Water Board receives recommendations and options based on a financial analysis by a private rate consultant. The Water Board holds hearings on the proposed changes, taking testimony from interested groups and individuals, and then votes upon changes for the ensuing fiscal year.
Upstate reservoirs provide most of the water consumed in New York City.
It is transported through a series of aqueducts and arrives in the city through two huge and aging water tunnels, with a new tunnel under construction but already partially operational. Because the volume of city use was severely taxing the water system, the State required that the city control and reduce water use. Specifically, in 1986, the city was required to install water meters in every building with the goal of water conservation. The Universal Water Metering Program was instituted in 1987, with water rates increased to cover the cost of the meters and their installation. By 1991 it was apparent that while meters were effective in controlling water use in single family dwellings, the same was far from true in some multiple dwellings, where those using the water neither saw the meter nor paid the water bills directly.