Why are rates increasing in 2024?
Monthly water and wastewater service rates will increase by 10.9% for a typical customer in 2024, due to ongoing regulatory mandates, aging infrastructure, and the need to improve system resiliency.
Here is a breakdown of the rate changes:
Water Service Rates - These are fixed rates that all customers pay to receive water services. These monthly charges are necessary to pay for facility and infrastructure improvements necessary to meet ongoing regulatory mandates, aging infrastructure, and to improve system resiliency.
2024 Water Service Rates:
- ERWSD: $39.11 per SFE per month (1 SFE is up to 3000 sq.ft.)
- This combined charge is comprised of water service, debt service, and capital replacement program costs.
- UERWA: $42.85 per SFE per month (1 SFE is up to 3000 sq.ft.)
- This combined charge is comprised of water service, debt service, and capital replacement program costs.
Wastewater Service Rates - Wastewater Service Rates are fixed rates that all customers pay to receive wastewater services.
2024 Wastewater Service Rates: $62.04 per SFE per month minimum monthly charge (based on 5,000 gallons per month). This is a 20.2% ($10.42) increase, driven by a 2023 bond (debt service).
Water Use Rates – These are being updated because of a fundamental flaw in our billing structure for individually metered residential customers. Previously, individually metered residential customers were allotted water based on their SFE as a multiplier. This resulted in larger homes paying less per 1,000 gallons than smaller homes for the same amount of water use.
The updated 2024 Water Use Rate Structure is more equitable. All customers will pay the same amount per volume of use. This will result in water use charges increasing for some customers (mostly larger SFE homes who continue to use the same amount of water as they have in the past) – but not all.
How will these changes impact my bill?
These changes will impact every customer’s monthly bill since basic water and wastewater service rates are increasing. Water use rate changes may not impact your bill depending on how much water you use. Customers can keep their bills low by using less water and using water more efficiently, especially for outdoor uses.
We have created an online, interactive bill forecasting tool that can help you understand your water use and what it will cost with 2024 rates. Use this tool to modify your water use and see how your bill would change.
How are these changes reflected on my bill?
Your bill is a great place to better understand these changes, your water use, and detailed charges. See the diagram below which explains how to read your bill and what each section means.
How can I monitor my monthly water use?
All customers must register in our WaterSmart program to track and monitor their water use and receive important information about their account. This program is extremely helpful for tracking water use, getting leak alerts, and receiving important communications. Go to https://erwsd.watersmart.com/index.php/welcome to register. You will need the last 8-digits of your ERWSD account number.
Are rates changing for all account types (Individually metered, Irrigation-only, Commercial, Multi-Family, Municipal, and Mixed-Use)?
No. Rates are only changing for Individually metered residential and Irrigation-only accounts in 2024.
The other four account type rates will see changes in 2025. If you are an individually metered residential or irrigation-only account, you will see rate changes in 2024.
What will changes look like for Irrigation-Only accounts?
There are currently three legacy billing structures for irrigation-only accounts. These accounts will be migrated to a coverage-based irrigation billing structure. A multiplier will be assigned based on the irrigated area; 1 acre = multiplier of 1, which can go below and above 1. This multiplier will be applied to the volume of water in each tier, so tiered rates will be scaled to the amount of water necessary to maintain the area of landscape watered by the account.
Irrigation-only accounts will also start paying a monthly base rate. This is new and should be explained to these customers.
Like other base rates, this covers the cost to maintain service (infrastructure, water treatment, admin costs, etc.). The base rate will be multiplied by the irrigated area multiplier. The minimum base rate is 1x the multiplier.
2024 Monthly Irrigation-only service rates:
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ERWSD: $12.77 per month
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UERWA: $13.72 per month
For questions or more information, call customer service at 970.477.5451.