HOUSEHOLDERS in Yangpu District who have refused to pay their water bills for almost 20 years face having a black mark on their personal credit records, the local water authority said yesterday.

Some 20 households have not paid since 1995, and are in arrears to the sum of 142,000 yuan (US$23,200), the Shanghai Water Authority said.

Residents in 215 to 229 Liangzhou Road refused to pay for tap water after getting water pipes replaced themselves.