How we calculate your wastewater bill

When you wash your hands, take a shower or flush your toilet, you probably don't think about how much it costs or how your habits each winter factor into your utility bill.

While our wastewater system is a complex system of service lines, mains and treatment plants, the process to determine your wastewater bill actually isn't that complicated. 

Our residential wastewater bill is made up of two separate charges. The first is a service charge, and the second one is called a commodity charge. Here's what those mean:

• Service charge: a charge that pays for maintaining our wastewater collection system and costs related to our billing system, meter reading and our call center. This charge is calculated using a fixed daily rate multiplied by the number of days in a billing cycle. Service charges do not change based on a customer's usage.
• Commodity charge: this charge pays for wastewater treatment and collection center costs. It's normally calculated using your average daily winter usage multiplied by the number of days in a billing cycle. Note: You will be billed less than this amount if your water usage in a billing cycle is less than your winter average.
  
  

While all of these charges pay for wastewater maintenance, collection and treatment costs, the total amount you pay is unique to your home.

That's because we calculate projected wastewater flows based on your average water usage from December through the end of February, which can vary from household to household. So, why do we base the calculation on your winter water use? 

It's because our city uses less water for outdoor watering in the winter. Most of the water that is used this time of year flows down drains and into our wastewater system, rather than into the ground. It also happens to be when your water usage is lowest, which keeps your wastewater bills lower as well.

As a community-owned, nonprofit utility, we use that money to pay for the costs of providing service and to invest in our system, ensuring we continue to provide reliable service for our customers.

That's all there is to it. If you want to learn more about your usage, log in to My Account to view graphs, billing history and use an interactive bill.

Also, if you're having trouble paying your bill, we may be able to help. Visit our customer assistance page to find tools, resources and assistance programs.