About Your Bill
HOW IS MY MONTHLY BILL CALCULATED?
Water Bill: Billed monthly, made up of two types of charges:
- Basic Charge – fixed amount based on you billing meter size
- Consumption Charge – based on consumption of water used during the meter reading period. One unit of water is equal to 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons.
Sewer Bill: Billed monthly, by a fixed basic charge.
Understanding Your Bill
Learn more about rates, fees and surcharges.
Water Rates: Tiered rates result in the cost per unit of water increasing as one uses more water. With the new rates there are three different tiers, and each tier has a set amount of water associated with it. In a given monthly billing cycle:
- Tier 1: The lowest rate applies to the first 4 units of water used.
- Tier 2: The next 4 units (5 to 8), have a slightly higher rate.
- Tier 3: Any usage beyond the first 8 units enters this tier, with the highest charges.
Service Charge: The Service Charge is a monthly charge that recovers administrative costs, meter maintenance and other operational expenses related to providing water to your home or business.
Capital Charge: The Capital Charge is a monthly charge to recover capital-related costs.
Private Fire Charge: A charge that only applies to customers with private fire hydrants and/or a private fire service line to recapture the costs of the associated service.
Fire Surcharge: The District was severely impacted by the 2020 CZU Fire. The District’s water system sustained extensive damage including to raw water supply lines, storage tanks, water treatment systems, pumps, water quality monitoring equipment, and water transmission pipeline. The District instituted the Fire Surcharge in 2021 following a public process. Most residential customers pay $9.67/month. The surcharge will automatically end once $5 million has been collected or could be terminated early. It’s anticipated this rate will sunset in by Fall 2026.
Customer Class Definitions:
- Single Family Residential – Includes homes with a single ADU
- Commercial - Includes multi-residential, mobile homes, and homes with two or more ADUs
- Industrial - Includes schools and private mutuals
- Irrigation - Includes parks
Bear Creek Estates ONLY
Wastewater: The Wastewater Charge covers the cost of building, operating and maintaining the system that collects, treats and disposes of the wastewater. This is a fixed monthly rate.