FLINT, MI - The city's holiday break from water shutoff notices is over as officials say they will again start sending warnings to those behind on their bills.

Finance Director Jody Lundquist told the city's Receivership Transition Advisory Board, which oversees the city's finances, Wednesday, Jan. 13, that the city stopped sending water shutoff notices to city residents over the holiday season, but will begin issuing them again.

The break from notices was meant to give a reprieve from shutoffs to customers over the holiday season and lessen the burden on city staff.

However, some residents have expressed outrage over the fact they are being billed for water they cannot drink without filtration due to elevated lead levels found in water in some Flint homes.

The city's water crisis has drawn protests and international news coverage.

Lundquist said the "public media event" has presented additional financial challenges for the city's water fund.

"The impact of the water crisis is tremendous," Lundquist said.

This would be the second time the city has sent out shutoff notices since a judge's ruling temporarily halted the practice in August.

In November 2015, Lundquist announced that 1,800 shutoff notices for past-due accounts were expected to be mailed to customers. Lundquist did not say how many notices were expected to be released in this most recent round.

The notices sent out in November were only for debts from water bills that had been issued since the city rolled back water and sewer rates to comply with an injunction issued by Genesee Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman.

City officials have said the injunction, issued in a class action lawsuit brought by Flint water customers, has caused an increasing number of overdue accounts because the order forbid shutoffs based on rates that the judge ruled were improperly adopted.

The first bills reflecting the adjusted rate ordered by Hayman were mailed to customers in September. Unpaid balances prior to the new bills being mailed in September were frozen and payments made on balances due before the injunction were applied to the new billing table, according to the city.

Those September bills were 30 days past due on Oct. 11, and the city's policy is to issue shutoff notices when accounts are more than 30 days past due.

Despite the ability to send out notices, Lundquist said the city struggled to obtain all of the payments.

"Our collections remain down," Lundquist told the board.

The newest shutoff notices will include bills from November and December, Lundquist said.

Customers are given 10 days to make payments to avoid disconnections, city officials said previously.