Property owners here no longer have to check their mailboxes for water and sewer bills.

The Department of Environmental Protection is launching today a Web-based billing option, becoming the first city agency to start shifting away from paper bills.

Environmental Commissioner Cas Holloway explained that it costs 51 cents every time his agency mails a quarterly bill to its 835,000 ratepayers.

If just 10 percent of its customers sign up for electronic billing, the DEP would save $170,000.

To sign up for the program go to http://www.nyc.gov/dep.