Water line protection mailers causing confusion

Water line protection mailers causing confusion

Posted: Updated:
ALPHARETTA, Ga. -

Mailers that have been going out to metro Atlanta residents have caused some real confusion.  The letters offer a low-cost water line protection service, but the problem is that a lot of people think the company's offer is affiliated with or even endorsed by local governments.

In Alpharetta, there were enough calls to city hall that officials there felt like they needed to clarify that they are not associated with this water line protection company.

The letter comes from a company called American Water Resources.  For a monthly fee, it offers a service to cover the repair of broken or damaged water pipes. The company reminds homeowners that they are responsible for the maintenance of the water line from the curb to the house.  

Alpharetta officials say in their letter, it sites the local government's code on that.   And that, according to city officials, is where folks got confused.   So, to make it clear, the two are not associated.  On their website, the city of Alpharetta posted a statement clarifying that the city has nothing to do with this company, and does not endorse it.

That led the FOX 5 I-Team to wonder whether it is worth paying for the service.  America Water Resources says they'll cover repairs up to $5,000 for about $60 a year.  But you really need to figure out what is not covered before you decide.  

In this case, there are 27 exemptions.  The plan does not cover repairing clogs or blockages.  The plan won't cover natural disasters like floods.  And it also won't cover problems with defective blue polybutylene pipe, more commonly known as blue poly.  A local water line repair company says that blue pipe repair is about 50 percent of their repair business.

The I-Team's Dana Fowle talked to American Water Resources, and although they don't cover blue poly because its been part of a national recall, they say they will refund all of your annual fees toward the repair cost.  They also have an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau.  

If you would like to know more about their program, the company provided a press release which you can see if you click here.

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