PRAIRIE RONDE, La. (KLFY) -- After questioning the billing process of the Prairie Ronde Water System, the president of the board said it's simply the rules of the business.

Wayne Reiners, President of water system board, said, "I don't care who pays the bill as long as the bill gets paid. The Prairie Ronde Water System is set up as a private, not for profit, organization. We're not out to make money, we're out to cover our expenses and set aside enough reserves for improvements and repairs and so on."

Reiners said the water system faced the problem of tenants leaving a property with damaged pipes or outstanding payments for several years.

Landowners were able to avoid these payments by claiming it was the tenant who should pay since their name is on the bill.

As a result, Reiners said he worked with attorneys to create a policy placing the responsibility on the landowner.

"It doesn't matter if it's tenant or owner, if there is an outstanding bill on a meter, service will not be connected to that meter until that balance is satisfied," Reiners said. "That is the ultimate responsibility of the property owner."

In cases like Whitney Ponthieux, Reiners said the policy also provides the possibility of refunding the outstanding balance if the previous tenant ever moves back to Prairie Ronde.

"If ever that person tries to get back on the Prairie Ronde water system, or we are successful in collecting it, we give that money back," Reiners said. "We're not going to keep it. We'll give that money back to whoever paid the bill. We tried to be as fair with this as we could."

Reiners said anytime a resident has an issue with their policy, they can be addressed directly by attending their board meetings.