Many Onondaga County homeowners have probably received information in the mail from the water authority about an optional water line protection plan. Authority executive director Michael Hooker says they began looking into the plans because many water lines in the system are 50 to 100 years old. In addition, Hooker says last winter’s extreme temperatures froze the service lines of 500 customers. So, OCWA considered three service providers, and settled on HomeServe.
"What we were seeking was a good price, good premium for customers. I want to stress OCWA is not making anything off of this. Our relationship with them is basically helping educate the customer and trying to provide the service to them."
Homeowners can sign up for $4.49 a month, or just about $54 a year. Here’s how it works: If there’s a leak or break from the property line to the meter or main shut-off valve in the house, the policy will cover it. Hooker says most residents don’t realize OCWA is only responsible for the water line from the main to the curb box at the edge of the right of way. Insurance experts like Tim Dodge say most homeowner’s policies don’t cover exterior water line repairs. He’s assistant vice president with Indepenedent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York…and says the coverage from home serve might be worthwhile depending on the financial circumstances of the homeowner.
"If you've got a healthy emergency fund that can cover the cost of an emergency repair like that, then maybe it's optional. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, or pretty close to that, and having to fix an exterior water line would be catastrophic for you, then $50 dollars a year...might not be a bad idea to spend that."
According to estimates on the back of the letter, costs to locate, excavate, and repair a water line leak average more than $400. Complete replacement runs into the thousands, averaging over $2,200. Dodge says older neighborhoods are typically more at-risk.
"I would say the older your neighborhood is, probably the older your pipes are, then that $4 a month is looking like more and more of a bargain."
OCWA director Michael Hooker says it also depends on the materials used.
"Some people might have a galvanized line that's suceptible to corrosion. There's copper lines. There's plastic service lines. It depends on the material, depends on the age. It depends on the soils around your home. If the soils are acidic, it could cause corrosion on the pipeline."
Hooker says there’s another reason homeowners might consider the coverage.
"Recently, studies have indicated that a good portion of water loss is on the customer side. So, we've expanded our [leak detection] program, and working on expanding it further, to determine whether it's a water loss on a water main or on a water service."
He says if a leak is detected in the customer’s portion of the service line, they’re on the hook for repairs…and that’s something that could be covered under the HomeServ plan. Residents would call a toll free number, and a licensed and insured Onondaga County plumber is dispatched to the site.
More information is at ocwarepairplans.com.
