Rincon’s city council is trying to streamline the process by which residents may get their water bills adjusted in the event of a leak.

At Tuesday’s council meeting the members discussed establishing an ordinance that allows either the city manager or finance director to adjust water bills for one billing cycle.

“Normally people don’t realize they have a leak until they get the bill,” said interim city manager David Schofield.

Currently, residents must go before the city council to request an adjustment. However, with the new change residents would simply contact city hall and from there they would be directed to either the city manager or finance director who would then make the adjustment.

Water customers would still have to approach the city council if their leak persisted for more than a month, unless this rule is changed in the new ordinance.

Schofield explained that the city uses a particular formula to do the adjustment. After doing so the bill usually drops by two-thirds.

Residents would still need to prove that they indeed had a leak by bringing in their water bill and a receipt from their plumber showing that they paid for a leak to be fixed.

The ordinance is being worked on now. Schofield expects it to be ready for a first reading no later than the June 25 council meeting.