Your water use is currently on track to exceed 20,000 gallons this billing period.
If usage continues at this rate, a drought surcharge will be assessed on water usage over 20,000 gallons.
Why would I receive a surcharge?
Stage 3 drought restrictions were declared on June 25, 2024. These rules have been communicated via local newspapers, television, social media, the SAWS website, and bill inserts.
The Stage 3 Drought Surcharge encourages customers to reduce water use during advanced stages of drought. It is assessed to commercial and residential accounts exceeding fixed thresholds of water use.
How much is the drought surcharge?
20,000 gallons of usage normally represents either outdoor water usage or a leak. For single family residential accounts during Stage 3 watering rules, there is a drought surcharge of $10.37 per thousand gallons for any usage above a threshold of 20,000 gallons in a billing period.
Estimate Your Bill
New drought rule changes are designed to encourage compliance and stewardship of our supplies, exactly how much your own bill might change will depend on your household’s water use and other factors.
The Residential Rate Calculator can be used to help you get an idea of how drought surcharge rates may affect your bill in different stages of drought.
What can I do? Can I avoid receiving a drought surcharge?
Regardless of the household size or the square footage of a residential dwelling, the level of usage that triggers a drought surcharge normally represents either outdoor water usage or a leak.
You have received this notice because you may still be able to avoid a surcharge by taking action using these tips:
What can I do? Can I avoid receiving a drought surcharge?
Regardless of the household size or the square footage of a residential dwelling, the level of usage that triggers a drought surcharge normally represents either outdoor water usage or a leak.
You have received this notice because you may still be able to avoid a surcharge by taking action using the tips below:
Learning how to read the water meter can help you detect some continuous leaks instantly.
Download the SAWS MyAccount app or visit myaccount.saws.org to review your most recent water usage and look for patterns that indicate a possible leak.
- Many continuous leaks appear in your ConnectH2O meter data as continuous hourly usage.
- Scheduled outdoor irrigation, by contrast, will often recur on the same day and/or at the same time every week.
Learn more about detecting and addressing common household leaks and for tips on what to ask a plumber to check.
Shutting off automated irrigation controllers and running them manually can help many customers resolve irrigation programming issues, especially if you have noticed sprinklers running at unexpected times. Remember to leave the controller in the off position after running it manually.
For very large irrigation systems, prioritizing your irrigation zones and eliminating weekly programmed schedules in non-essential areas (like shrub zones, backyard areas, side yards, etc.) can prioritize irrigation for the most important zones during drought periods. Established plants and landscape beds can often be watered manually every other week or even once per month.
SAWS offers a free consultation from a licensed irrigator to check the system and assist with programming on a first come, first served basis. To schedule, call (210) 704-SAVE (7283).
Fix a Leak
If high water use is due to a leak, please repair the leak to minimize water loss and any impact to your bill. You can submit repair receipts to SAWS to review your eligibility for a leak adjustment, including a possible adjustment of the surcharge.