Rates & Connection Fees 

  1. Residential Water/Sewer Rates
  2. Non-residential Water Rates
  3. Charges to Establish New Services

How your residential bill is calculated

Residential water use is billed on a four-tiered pricing system, based on winter average (WA) water use, or 100 gallons a day multiplied by the number of days in the billing cycle, whichever is greater. When applicable, outdoor water use meter readings from irrigation meters are combined with indoor use in calculating the WA. The minimum WA is 3,000 gallons per month.

If you are a new residential customer, your WA will be calculated based on a two-person household with an average use of 50 gallons a day per person. If you have more than two people in your household, you can request an adjustment. To do so, you must complete and submit a water service request and affidavit form to:

Water Business Office
124 E. Hancock Ave.
Athens, GA 30601

All rates below are effective July 1, 2020*.
Water and Sewer Rates & Fees brochure (PDF) 

*Changes to Tier 1, 2, 3, & 4 are underway and will take effect when software updates are completed.  Once completed, WA will be replaced with Annual Average and Tiers 2 & 3 will be wider, allowing more use before entering the next tier.
To provide COVID-19 relief to our customers, a planned rate increase for July 2020 did not take effect.

Residential Water Rate Structure
Tier 1 - Winter Average (WA)WA water use is calculated at a rate of $5.73 per 1,000 gallons.
Tier 2 - Up to 10% over WAAdditional water use up to 10% over the WA is calculated at a rate of $7.16 per 1,000 gallons.
Tier 3 - More than 10% over WAAdditional water use more than 10% up to 25% over WA is calculated at a rate of $8.59 per 1,000 gallons.
Tier 4 - More than 25% over WAAdditional water use more than 25% over the WA is calculated at a rate of $14.32 per 1,000 gallons.


Sewer Rates
Residential sewer use is equal to 100% of water consumption$6.76 per 1,000 gallons


Customer Service Fee
Monthly customer service fees cover the overhead costs for meter reading, fixed costs, and billing operations.  The current fee is a decrease from $8.81.  The savings are a result of the increased efficiencies of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Water Customer Service Fee$4.40
Sewer Customer Service Fee$4.40

Meter Fee
A monthly meter covers the cost of meter maintenance and upgrades.  The meter fee is billed based on meter size.  Residential homes typically have a 3/4-inch water meter.
Meter SizeMonthly Fee
3/4 inch$0.43
1 inch$0.95
1.5 inch$2.99
2 inch$23.23
3 inch$31.57
4 inch$43.71
6 inch$107.70
8 inch$142.56


Irrigation Meter Rates
Sewer:  Because water from a separate irrigation meter does not enter the sanitary sewer system, no sewer charges apply to water consumed through this meter.
Water:  Water passing through a household meter and separate irrigation meter are combined and billed on the four-tiered pricing system.

Additional Resources