Rates

The District's water and wastewater rate structure contains two component charges: a fixed rate and a volumetric rate.  Since all customers benefit from the pipes, pumps, reservoirs, and future water reliability programs, these infrastructure costs are recovered by the fixed meter charges and are based on the size of the water meter servicing a property. The volumetric rates are based on the actual demands placed on the water and wastewater utility and customers are charged per unit of water used.

WATER RATES

Monthly Fixed Rates for Meter Size:

Meter Size
Fixed Rate ($ per Account)
¾"
$23.05
1"
$28.30
1 ½"
$38.82
2"
$56.03
3"
$144.96
4"
$209.45
6"
$377.55
8"
$587.70

Monthly Volumetric Rates ($ per CCF*):

Volumetric rates are applied to the amount of water delivered and consist of five tiers that increase as water consumption increases. Commercial customers are billed volumetrically on a flat rate.

Tier
Single-Family*
Multi-Family
Domestic Irrigation**
Commercial
Recycled Irrigation**
1
$1.67
$1.67
$1.67
$1.75
$1.82
2
$1.94
$1.94
$1.94
flat rate
$2.39
3
$2.45
$2.45
$2.45

$2.44
4
$2.96
$2.96
$2.96

$2.66
5
$4.85
$4.85
$4.85

$5.32

* Single Family (SF) tiers are based on individual budgets based on the number of people in the household and irrigable area.  Click for more information on SF budget calculations.

** Dedicated irrigation tiers have an outdoor budget that is based on irrigable area. Click for more information on outdoor budget calculations.

MWD Pass-Through Charge ($ per CCF):

Your monthly water bill includes a line item pass-through charge of $0.19 per billing unit (CCF) of water used.  This pass-through charge is from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("MWD") for imported water supply and delivery from Northern California and the Colorado River.

Power Surcharge ($ per CCF):

Certain customers are in areas of the District that require more power to pump water for delivery. For these customers, SMWD applies a Power Surcharge to cover the additional pumping costs.

Pumping Zone
Rate ($ per CCF)
3
$0.26
4
$0.37
5
$0.51
B4
$0.37
C
$0.18
C4
$0.37
C5
$0.51
D
$0.34
E
$0.49

WASTEWATER RATES

Monthly Fixed & Volumentric Service Charges:

Customer Class
Fixed Rate ($ per Account)
Volumetric Rate* ($ per CCF)
Residential
$25.51
$1.03
C1 - Low Strength
$25.51
$0.87
C2 - Medium Strength
$25.51
$1.03
C3 - Medium-High Strength
$25.51
$1.49
C4 - High Strength
$25.51
$2.19
Recreational
$25.51
$0.84

* Single-Family customers are billed up to a maximum 10 CCF; MFR single meter customers are billed up to a maximum of 7 CCF; MFR common meter customers are billed up to a maximum of 9 CCF.  Commercial customers' volumetric rates are based on 90% of total consumption.

Water Budgets for Single-Family Residential Customers  

Residential water budgets comprise both indoor and outdoor budgets. Each single-family residential customer will be allocated a reasonable amount of water for their monthly use, split into indoor and outdoor water budgets. At the conclusion of the rate restructure in 2019, each property will have a water budget specific to its irrigable area.

Indoor Water Budget Calculated Using:

  1. Number of persons in a household
    (default of four people)
  2. 55 gallons of water per person, per day
  3. Number of days in the billing cycle

Outdoor Water Budgets Calculated Using:

  1. Irrigable landscape area per parcel
  2. Daily weather (Evapotranspiration, ET)
  3. Evapotranspiration adjustment factor

Water Budget Residential

For residential customers, the rate structure for the volumetric charge has five tiers. Residential customer who stay within their water budget remain in the first two tiers:

Tier 1: Indoor Water Budget
Tier 2: Outdoor Water Budget
Tier 3: 101% to 150% of Total Water Budget
Tier 4: 151% to 200% of Total Water Budget
Tier 5: Over 201% of Total Water Budget