To permanently stop water and sewer services at your property, you will need a Discontinuance Permit. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) issues these permits at the PWD Permit Desk on the concourse level of the Municipal Services Building.

If you are selling a property, the water service account will update automatically after the deed of sale is registered with the City. For more information on this process, see the City’s page for property owners.

A Discontinuance Permit is not needed when selling a property, and it is not a temporary solution to avoid service charges. It is the permanent disconnection of your property’s service lines from the City main.

If you need to restore water service to the property at a later time, you will need to obtain a new plumbing permit and hire a City-certified plumber to install a new water service. This could result in thousands of dollars of additional expenses.

Please note: Discontinuance Permits have no impact on stormwater charges. Every property in the City is charged monthly for stormwater that runs off the property’s impermeable surfaces into City-owned collection systems. See PWD’s Stormwater Billing page for more information.