San Diego city officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for “water update” notices at their homes that appear to be from a private company with no association with the city.
Residents contacted by the company are urged not to agree to services and not to provide personal information, officials said Friday.
Recently, customers of the city’s Public Utilities Department in south San Diego neighborhoods — such as Otay Mesa, Nestor, Palm City and Ocean View Hills — reported receiving notices that could be misleading. Similar notices have been reported in other cities and regions around the country, according to the city.
“We want to encourage our customers to be vigilant and verify the information that is sent to their homes,” said Juan Guerreiro, director of the Public Utilities Department. “Our teams are committed to customer safety and delivering clean water to homes and businesses across San Diego.
“City staff will always identify themselves right away; please contact Public Utilities if you have any concerns about a notice left at your home,” he said.
The Public Utilities Department continually tests water quality, and “our water meets or exceeds all state and federal water quality regulations,” a city statement reads.
The city will not request access to your home to test water quality, officials said. Any notification from the city regarding water quality would include a city logo and be delivered by city personnel with proper identification. City personnel are supposed to show proper identification and provide a supervisor’s phone number for verification when asked.
“Residents should check any phone number provided to ensure that it is legitimate,” according to the city statement. “Anyone claiming to be a city employee who refuses to wait while the phone number is contacted for verification should be considered fraud.”
City of San Diego residents are urged to report any suspicious personnel to the San Diego Police Department at its 24-hour non-emergency line at (619) 531-2000 or Public Utilities Department’s emergency hotline at (619) 515-3525.
Public Utilities Department customers can also contact the city’s Water Quality hotline at (619) 668-3232 or email drinkingwaterquality@sandiego.gov.
