Water Rates

Notes:

• ¹One unit of water = 1 CCF = 748 gallons 
• ²Water System Access Charge applies where the City provides fire protection only to accounts that utilize a private well for domestic purposes.
• A 5% Utility Users Tax is applied to the entire water portion of the bill, including the base fee and all surcharges. 

 Sewer Rates

Notes:

• ¹One unit of water = 1 CCF = 748 gallons 
• Sewer usage is not billed by tier. The per-unit rate applies to all water usage up to Sewer Cap.
• For multi-family accounts, the per-unit rate applies to all water usage up to the Sewer Cap. Non-residential accounts do not have a sewer cap and are billed for each unit of water usage. 

Proposition 218 Notices 

FY 2025-26 & 2026-27: English Version / Versión en Español

FY 2023-24 & 2024-25:  English Version / Versión en Español

How am I Billed? 

Water and sewer usage is billed monthly. Each account has an individual water meter at the property that tracks water usage. Currently, the City utilizes a third party to manually read every water meter each month. Monthly water usage is then determined by subtracting the previous month's read from the current month's read in "units". One "unit" is equivalent to one hundred cubic feet or 748 gallons of water.

The City bills in whole units, meaning partially used units will roll into the next month’s usage cycle. For example, if a customer uses 3.8 units of water in March, they will be billed for 3 units, and the 0.8 will roll into April. The customer then only needs to use 0.2 units in April to complete a full unit to be charged on the next bill. This can create a scenario where a customer may use less water than the prior month and may receive a larger bill.

Calculate My Bill

The Calculate My Bill tool allows residential properties to forecast their total monthly bill by entering their units of water consumed (cons) and their sewer cap below (Sewer Cap can be found on your bill and defaults to 5 units for new customers). Non-residential accounts can find more information on the www.slocity.org/utilityrates page.  If you have any questions or would like assistance calculating your estimated bill, please call us at 805.781.7133.

Current 2025-26 Rates for Single Family Residence

These rates went into effect July 1, 2025. View the Proposition 218 Notice mailed in April 2025 (Versión en Español).

Please enter your water consumption & sewer cap below to calculate what your bill may be at the proposed rates.

Sewer Cap

Each year, the City of San Luis Obispo uses your winter water usage to calculate a Sewer Cap. A sewer cap is the maximum amount of water use that will be billed for sewer service. This helps make sure you are not paying sewer charges for water that is used outdoors, such as irrigation.

2025–2026 Sewer Cap Period:

The 2025-2026 Sewer Cap period is December 1, 2025 - March 10, 2026.

Your water use during this period will determine your sewer cap for the 2025–2026 billing year starting July 1, 2026.

Turn off irrigation and reduce outdoor water use during this time to help lower your sewer cap.

The City determines the amount of wastewater discharged per property by using the same amount of water that was used by the property during the sewer cap period. To prevent overcharging sewer fees due to irrigation, the sewer cap is calculated during the winter when irrigation is typically off. This allows the sewer cap to cover sewer use only.

Step 1: Winter water use is measured.

Water use is tracked for three billing periods:

• December usage (read in January)
• January usage (read in February)
• February usage (read in March)

Step 2: The Sewer Cap is applied starting July 1st.

Your sewer cap is effective July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

You are only charged sewer fees up to your cap. If you use less water, you pay less.

Notes for Residents

• Applies to residential properties only
• New customers without usage history default to:
  • 5 units for single-family homes
  • 4 units per dwelling for multi-family properties on a shared meter
• Commercial/industrial customers can install a separate landscape meter to avoid being charged sewer fees on irrigation use (installation is at customer’s expense)

• Council Agenda Report – May 6, 2014
• Resolution No. 10587

The following fees and penalties may be incurred on your utility account. Below are the current fees effective July 1, 2025. (amounts of fees and penalties are subject to change): 

Account Setup Fee — $43.26

This is the standard account set-up fee for ALL new utility accounts. This is a one-time, non-refundable fee; it is not a deposit. Service can be set-up for the next business day when called in before 4 pm.

After Hours Setup Fee — $522.21

This is the cost for account setup when setup is required on the same day. This fee includes the standard $43 account setup fee. As this type of request dispatches a standby technician, it cannot be canceled once activated. This is a one-time, non-refundable fee; it is not a deposit.

Late Fee — $15 or 1.5%

Anytime an account is not paid in full by the due date (15th of every month), a late fee will be charged amounting to $15 or 1.5% of the total past due balance, whichever is greater.

Returned Payments — $25

Payments returned by the bank, regardless of reason, will be applied back to the account, a $25 returned payment fee will be incurred, and a notification letter will be sent. The returned payment is immediately considered past due, and will fall into the next shutoff proceeding if not paid by the due date in the notification letter.

Service Termination and Restoration — $57

If customers fail to pay their bill by the date on their delinquency notice, the water/sewer service to the address in question will be terminated on the following business day. This termination includes a lock on the meter preventing the customer from restoring service. A $57 service termination and restoration penalty will be assessed to the account, which will be due along with the entire past due balance before service will be restored. For a residential customer who demonstrates household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, this fee will be reduced to $50.

Note: Termination of service due to lack of payment does not preclude the account from incurring new charges. The base fees for water and sewer use will continue to be applied to the account each month even if no actual water is used.

Water meters in the City of San Luis Obispo are owned by the City and therefore are City Property. If the lock on a water meter is intentionally broken or removed by anyone other than a City Utilities Services Technician, the City may, at its discretion, consider any or all of the following penalties and actions:

• Removal of water meter and $50 penalty to the customer account. The meter will be re-installed when all outstanding balances have been paid.
• Citation from the City for tampering with City property (City Municipal Code §13.04.150 B) and any charges necessary to repair all damage to said property and/or its housing.
• Misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding one year (City Municipal Code §13.04.250; §1.12.030).