Newton WaterWorks now accepting online payments

Paying water bills in Newton just got a little bit easier.

Residents can now pay their monthly water bills using the online utility payment portal at www.newtongov.org/utilitypayment. The portal allows customers to check their bills and pay electronically with a credit or debit card. Account history is also available, giving customers detailed data on billing, payment and usage.

With the new system in place, customers can receive bill notifications through email. In order for residents to use online payment methods, they must sign up at the portal and need to provide their account number and the last billed amount. This information can be obtained by calling the billing office at 641-792-2003.

According to the city’s website, customers can pay their water bills by auto-deduct or by delivering a cash, check or money order to the billing office or one of the drop locations. Danielle Rogers, community marketing manager for the City of Newton, said the online portal gives residents another payment option.

“If you don’t want to setup ongoing, automatic payments to be paid from your checking account though the AutoPay service we offer, the online payment portal is an opportunity to pay your utility bills with a credit or debit card, or as a one-time payment directly from your checking or savings account.”

Prior to the successful special election that put the management of the Newton WaterWorks in the hands of council members as opposed to the utility’s board of trustees, WaterWorks officials had been working to identify an online payment option that would work best for customers.

Service charges are associated with the online payment portal. The city told Newton News it did its best to minimize the fees to the fullest extent possible.

It costs $1 to have a one-time payment taken from a checking or savings account. Customers are charged $0.50 plus 3 percent of the payment amount for debit and credit card payments. AutoPay, which allows payments to be debited from a bank account each month, is still the cheapest way to pay a water bill.