Note: Sample bills do not include any potential pumping surcharge amounts

*1 CCF=748 gallons

The indoor water budget for all customers remains unchanged at 50 gallons per resident per day. Your potable outdoor monthly water budget is based on 60% warm-season turf and 40% drought-tolerant landscaping. Your potable outdoor water budget is not based on 100% drought-tolerant landscaping. Those customers with lawns may go over their monthly water budget.

Default formula for residential customers:

Your outdoor monthly water budget is based on 60% warm-season turf and 40% drought-tolerant landscaping.

Customers with cool-season turf lawns may be over their monthly outdoor water budget.

Customers who continue to irrigate nonturf landscape with sprinklers and overhead spray may go over their monthly budget because these systems are less efficient at delivering water to the plants.

Drip irrigation is the most efficient form of irrigation for nonturf areas.

The monthly fixed water service charges for the average residential customer will increase from $10.35 to $10.75.

The fixed water service charge is used to pay for operations and maintenance costs, including inevitable infrastructure enhancements and replacements.

The fixed water service charge is based on the meter size which appears on the bill. For a list of proposed changes to the water service charge for all meter sizes, please refer to the IRWD Proposition 218 Notice near the top of this page.

The fixed water service charge is based on a 30-day billing cycle. Billing cycles that are longer or shorter than 30 days will produce service charges that are proportionally larger or smaller. See below for examples for a typical customer with a FY 2019-20 $10.35 monthly fixed water service charge:

• 30-day billing cycle produces $10.75 water service charge
• 34-day billing cycle produces $12.18 water service charge
• 26-day billing cycle produces $9.32 water service charge

A water conservation, or “leaseback” credit recognizes low-volume users that don’t fully use their reserved flow capacity. IRWD will provide the credit to users who are underutilizing that flow and effectively “leasing back” to the system for other users. The leaseback credit is only available for potable, recycled and landscape customers. This prevents the District from having to upsize infrastructure as quickly as capacity is exhausted.

Note: The leaseback credit is noted as "Water Conservation Credit” on the monthly bill.

Customers that remain in the Tier 1 – “Low Volume” tier for 9 out of 12 months for the previous calendar year will receive a $2.00 monthly credit during the following year.

This credit is also based on a 30-day billing period and will be adjusted up or down depending on the actual length of the billing cycle. See below for examples:

• 30-day billing cycle produces $2.00 credit
• 34-day billing cycle produces $2.27 credit
• 26-day billing cycle produces $1.73 credit
• Note: New customers must be with the District for a full calendar year before they can receive the credit.

The proposed fixed monthly sewer service charges for the average residential customer are used to pay for operations and maintenance costs including inevitable infrastructure enhancements and replacements. There are tiered sewer service fixed charges based on the three months with the lowest potable water usage from the previous calendar year. For specific sewer service charges please see your IRWD Proposition 218 Notice above.

Note: Until IRWD has a new customer's full calendar year of usage history, the customer is billed at the middle tier rate.

The sewer service charge is a fixed charge based on a 30-day billing cycle. Billing cycles that are longer or shorter than 30 days will produce service charges that are proportionally larger or smaller. See below for examples of an average customer with a $20.45 monthly fixed sewer service charge:

• 30-day billing cycle produces $20.45 sewer service charge
• 34-day billing cycle produces $23.18 sewer service charge
• 26-day billing cycle produces $17.72 sewer service charge

IRWD incurs additional pumping costs in order to provide service to customers at higher elevations.

The pumping surcharge is based on actual prevailing energy costs and varies depending upon the elevation of the area served. If a customer is in an area affected by a pumping surcharge, it will be itemized on the monthly bill.

PDF maps of the potable and recycled water pumping zones are available below.

• Potable water pumping surcharge zone map     
• Nonpotable water pumping surcharge zone map 

 *1 CCF = 748 gallons

Billing tiers are based on cost of service and on proportional use.

The number of billing tiers for residential and landscape customers remains unchanged at four, as follows:

• Tier 1 – Low Volume
• Tier 2 – Base Rate
• Tier 3 – Inefficient
• Tier 4 – Wasteful

The number of billing tiers for commercial customers also remains unchanged at two, as follows:

• Tier 1 - Base Rate
• Tier 2 - Wasteful

The billing tiers are based on cost of service and on proportional use. 

The water budget for landscapes irrigated with potable (drinking) water is based on an 80% irrigation efficiency. This results in an evapotranspiration factor (ET factor) of 0.75. The water budget for recycled water use and for functional turf irrigated with drinking water, such as a sport field is based on 75% irrigation efficiency. This results in a landscape factor of 0.87.

Definitions:

The chart below summarizes the assumptions made by IRWD for residential water budgets, depending on the type of residence.  IRWD encourages residential customers who need more water than their basic water budget provides to apply for a variance. Variances are given for additional occupants, special medical needs, and larger landscaped areas, among other things. Variances are effective the date that the request is received by the District and must be renewed annually. You can apply online or download a variance form here.

IRWD adopted a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) in 2021 as part of its Urban Water Management Plan. The WSCP includes requirements to implement locally appropriate water shortage response actions for six standard water shortage levels. Implementation of WSCP rates would require action by the IRWD Board of Directors and separate customer outreach. Currently, IRWD is not projecting any water shortages. For details on the rates proposed as potential response actions please click here.

To use the WSCP budget-based-rate calculator, visit wscprates.IRWD.com.