BILLINGS — The City of Billings shut off water for 147 unpaid accounts on Monday, following months of warnings to the community.
City Administrator Chris Kukulski said that all of the affected accounts come from one of the city's five billing cycles, with the next shut-offs scheduled for next Monday for the next cycle.
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"They were just the people in this billing cycle who didn't have a payment plan or had a balance exceeding $100," Kukulski said. "Then, next Monday, it'll be the same for another cycle."
Kukulski said there has been a decrease in unpaid bills since the city announced that water shut-offs would take effect in 2026. Currently, there are a little less than 1,300 accounts still in shut-off criteria.
"That's about 97 percent of our accounts that have paid their bills or are paying their bills or have a payment plan," Kukulski said.
Kukulski added that shutting off the service is a quick process for his employees.
“It’s pretty simple," Kukulski said. "They do not need to go in the home. The valves are back at the street boundary. They can simply come to the residence, find that box and make the twist to turn it on or off."
Kukulski said that these jobs are done with two people in case there are any altercations and that law enforcement was informed. He said there weren't any incidents on Monday.
“Law enforcement and others were well aware that today was going to be the start of this," Kukulski said. "Folks were ready to go if they needed to assist.”
The city sent out multiple letters over the past few months and also reached out to property owners by phone.
Despite that, some residents such as Levi Beaver, were still shocked to hear that water service could be cut. Beaver said he was under the impression that his account was on auto payment.
"It's kind of set up and out of the way," Beaver said. "Out of sight out of mind. We live busy lives and so it was just not on our minds to check."
Instead, Beaver said over the weekend he received a letter stating that his water would be shut off if nothing is done by 5 pm on Monday. The letter was dated for Dec. 31.
"I was in shock, especially to shut off our water when we only have the 24 hours notice," Beaver said. "It just adds one extra bill that you weren't expecting."
Kukulski said that mistakes like Beaver's happen and that the city is committed to working with residents. He added that as soon as a payment or payment plan is made, his crews will return to turn the water back on.
"We don't want to shut off anyone's water," Kukulski said. "That's a hardship."
Still, it's added stress to the plate of Beaver and his family, who's grateful that his service hasn't been shut off yet, knowing others have it much worse.
“We haven’t even thought about it," Beaver said of the water bill ordeal. "Just hearing about the other horror stories, and now it’s happening to us. So, yeah, not fun."
