Welcome to St. Lucie West Services District	

CONTACT INFORMATION
450 SW Utility Drive, Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 Tel #: (772) 340-0220
Business Hours: (8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
After hours emergency call (772) 340-0220 dial (1) to speak with utilities on-call staff
Fax #: (772) 871-5771
Email: customerservice@slwsd.org Website: www.slwsd.org		SLWSD STAFF ONLY

Irrigation schedule (2 days a week) MON TUE WED THURS FRI
Irrigation times for your location
	A.M. P.M. to 	A.M. P.M.	

The St. Lucie West Services District “SLWSD” is a legal entity and public body created pursuant to Chapter 190, Florida Statutes organized as a Community Development District within the boundaries of the City of Port St. Lucie. The District serves approximately 7,000 locations with a population of about 20,000.
The following are services that SLWSD supplies to the residents within St. Lucie West. SLWSD has an on-call staff available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year that provides a free service visit, if needed, for any utility related issues.

Water and Wastewater
The Water Treatment Plant’s Reverse Osmosis System removes virtually all water impurities and will treat up to 3.4 million gallons of water per day. Important Notice: SLWSD tests the drinking water in accordance with FDEP requirements. Independent companies may send out mailing stating the water may not be safe to drink. Unless the mailing includes SLWSD, please ignore these mailings. If questions arise about these mailings, call (772) 340-0220. The Wastewater Treatment Plant is an activated sludge facility which treats up to 2.13 mgd. Modified Lutzak-Ettinger is the primary treatment of the wastewater, 100% is used for irrigation reuse.

Irrigation
The irrigation water comes from the retention ponds which are made of 55% storm water and 45% reclaimed water. This water is “Non-Potable” and should not be used for drinking. The irrigation service is not metered, and we charge according to property type. The residential irrigation water base facility charges are classified as single family or multifamily. The commercial charges are by acre or per common area irrigated. Each location must abide by the assigned irrigation schedule or will be subject to warnings and/or penalties.

Residential: The irrigation schedule is on your timer. It is the responsibility of each homeowner to ensure that time clocks are set and maintained properly. Equipment failure will not be viewed as an excuse for watering outside of designated times. Multi- zoned systems of 2 zones or less will be allowed to run for 15 minutes for each zone. Customers with 3 or more zones should call the District office at 340-0220 to request your system be evaluated.

Maintenance of systems: All customers and contractors have 10 minutes per zone to perform appropriate maintenance one time per week. During maintenance or repairs there must be someone outside in attendance while the system is being worked on. If your system is left on and no individual is present, you will receive a warning or a penalty.
When repairs are the customers responsibility, the customer must contact their HOA and/or irrigation “IQ” company. HOA/IQ company shall contact the District’s office with the specific information and must contact the District when IQ is fixed for the District to turn back on the irrigation valves. When repairs are part of an agreement with the District, the District is responsible for the repairs and will make the IQ system operational as soon as possible.

Backflow Prevention Assembly Testing Program
Each connection to our Drinking Water System is required by FDEP to have a backflow prevention device. These devices are typically found near the water meter and are tested annually by SLWSD. Testing occurs between October 1st and December 31st.
Each device tested is billed, once per year, to the account holder.

Retention Ponds (aka Lakes)
With exception of Lakes Charles, fishing and boating are not allowed in District owned retention ponds. Fish are stocked by the District within the ponds for purposes of biological control of midge flies and other pests.

The District has an Aquatic Team that maintains the retention ponds by spraying and removing invasive exotic plants such as water hyacinth, hydrilla and torpedo grass. The yearly “lakes” schedule is on our website www.slwsd.org under Resources\SLWSD News or you may contact the Aquatic Manager at (772) 340-0220 ext.109.

Preserves
The District is responsible for the maintenance of the preserves and the removal of invasive exotic plants. The Exotic Plant Removal Team continually work throughout St. Lucie West to try and maintain invasive plants under control. If questions you may contact the Assistant Public Works Director at (772) 340-0220 ext. 126.

Stormwater
The St. Lucie West Storm Water System currently has 128 storm water retention pond’s totaling 650 surface acres of water. Within the 7 major drainage basins there are 25 smaller basins. The 25 individual basins range in size from 19 acres to 1,000 acres.

Currently the District discharges water into the City of Port St. Lucie conveyance canals. By permit with So Florida Water Management District and the City of Port St. Lucie, the St Lucie West Services District can only lower the external gates to one foot below control depending on the amount of rain expected and the downstream elevations in City’s system. All gates are required to be closed when the one foot below control has been achieved.

If questions you may contact the Stormwater Manager at (772) 340-0220 ext. 124.

Deposits

BILLING INFORMATION

Every account requires a deposit based on the meter size and/or service for each location. The deposit is neither negotiable nor transferable. There is a 24-hour wait or next business day to unlock your meter. The deposit is held for a minimum of two years (24 months) and is refunded if the customer has paid for one full year with no penalties, lock offs, nor returned payments. The deposits are placed in an interest-bearing account with all interest to be reinvested in the operation and maintenance costs of the water and sewer system, in order to offset costs of providing service.
Payments / Due Dates
Statements are mailed monthly around the 15th of each month and are due 20 calendar days from the bill date by 4:00pm each month even if someone lives at the location or not. (Find the schedule of rates and fees within the customer service tab on www.slwsd.org). For your convenience we have a 24-hour drop box located outside our office gate. Payments received after 3:30 p.m. will be processed the next business day except on the due date, payments will be processed at 4:00pm to avoid a penalty. Office staff picks up payments from drop boxes a few times each day except for weekends and SLWSD holidays. (see holiday schedule within the resources tab on www.slwsd.org)
Payment methods:
Checks, money orders, or cashier’s check (No Cash)
Bank drafts: Each month, payments from bank drafts are automatically debited 20 days after the statement date. For bank draft option, please complete and sign the Automatic Bank Payment Form and submit with a voided check. (ask our Customer Service for the form)
Online Banking through customers’ banks. SLWSD will download and processed these payments the next business day (keep in mind schedules may vary from bank to bank).
Credit cards or debit cards: (Online)
Online utilities payment website: Go to www.slwsd.org and pay your utilities bill with a credit card or e-check using SLWSD utilities payment system. Payment is posted to your account the next business day.
Pay by Phone: Call (866) 252-9322.
Penalties
All accounts are subject to a 10% penalty and/or discontinuation of service on all past due balances. Failure to receive your bill does not waive penalty. The owner of property is responsible for all debts incurred and not paid to the District. Unpaid bills may become a lien against property. Payments and penalties not paid will result in disconnection of service. Re-connection of service will result in a $25.00 service fee (during regular business hours) or $50.00 after hours, weekends and holidays.
Returned Payments (NSF)
When a payment is returned by the District’s bank or online services for any uncollected reason it is classified as a returned payment/NSF by the District office. The returned payment fee is $25.00 per occurrence. Should a customer’s service account have three (3) NSF’s within Twelve (12) consecutive calendar months the District shall only accept payment in the form of a money order or credit card. When an NSF occurs, the customer will be notified by the District. A letter and a door hanger are delivered, and the customer must contact the District within 7 days. The payment must be submitted to the District to prevent interruption of service and additional service fees. Non receipt of the letter or door hanger does not exempt customers from any or all of the preceding. If customer would like to pay with a check again, the customer may ask for the account to be reviewed after 12 months of good standing.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

WAYS TO PAY YOUR UTILITIES BILL

AUTOMATIC BANK DRAFT
Complete the Automatic Bank Draft form and submit a voided check to authorize SLWSD to automatically process future payments on the due date. Submit via email, mail or fax.
Email:customerservice@slwsd.org (Subject: Automatic Bank Draft)
Mail: St. Lucie West Services District
450 SW Utility Dr., Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
Fax:	(772) 871-5771

PAY BY PHONE
Call (866) 252-9322.

ONLINE PAYMENT (Utility payment site)
Go to: www.slwsd.org
Click on the “Payment” tab and “Pay your Bill Now”. This will direct you to the utility payment website.
Use the Quick Pay function (no log-in is necessary) or Register to login and see more account information.

MAIL PAYMENT
Pay by check or money order

PAYMENT IN PERSON (450 SW Utility Dr., Port St. Lucie, FL 34986)
Pay by check or money order and place in one of our drop-off boxes located outside the gate and at the front entrance by handicap parking.

ONLINE BANKING FROM CUSTOMERS BANK ACCOUNT
Customers that pay through their online banking can continue to use this payment method. These payments are processed when received. Keep in mind bank schedules may vary according to their internal procedures.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above options do not hesitate to contact Customer Service at (772) 340-0220.

IMPORTANT!
Payments received after 4:00 p.m. on the due date are considered late and a late fee of 10% will automatically be added to the account.