Water system change will cut most bills

Roughly 83 percent of the San Antonio Water System’s residential customers would see their water bills reduced, while all customers would see declines in their wastewater bills under a proposed rate structure recommended last week by SAWS’ rate advisory committee.

How much of a reduction customers will see depends multiple factors, including water usage and whether they’re enrolled in SAWS’ affordability program. The proposal generally aims to aid those with lower household income, to incentivize reducing water consumption, and to simplify bills.

The advisory committee will seek customer input and feedback on the proposal for the next four months. In November, the board and the City Council will vote on the changes. If approved, the rate structure would take effect in January 2023.

Here is an explanation of how these changes would affect most residential and commercial customers.

Residential customers

The fixed charge — a base fee separate from water usage charges — for residential customers will be cut about 20 percent for everyone. The charge will be $9 for customers who use less than 4,000 gallons of water a month and $11 for those who use more than 4,000 gallons. That’s down from $10.25 and $12.82, respectively.

The fixed charge for wastewater service would be reduced from $14.53 to $10.

The new rate structure reduces the number of rate tiers, which are based on the gallons of water used, from eight to five. The combined effect of the new tiers is that customers using less than 9,000 gallons of water a month could see up to a 16 percent decline in their water bills, while those who use more than that will see higher bills.

Customers using 9,000 to 11,000 gallons of water per month could see about a 2 percent increase, while those using

more than 12,000 gallons would see an increase closer to 7 or 8 percent.

As for wastewater, all residential customers will see their bills reduced, from as much as about 32 percent for those who produce little wastewater to about 4 percent for 30,000 gallons discharged.

For a residential customer making the median monthly household income, $4,857, 1.12 percent of that income that will go toward what’s considered essential water and wastewater — calculated by SAWS’ average customer winter usage of 5,062 gallons. Such customers would pay $54.62 for essential water and wastewater under the proposed

rate structure, down from $59.65 under the existing structure.

Affordability program

Under SAWS’ current affordability program, lower-income residential customers receive a discounted rate based on their income.

Customers with annual income at or below 50 percent the poverty level, which is $6,585 for a single person in San Antonio, receives a $28.35 discount on their monthly combined water and wastewater bills, while those at the poverty level — $13,171 — get a monthly discount of $12.50.

Under the new plan, which does not included such flat-rate discounts, all customers in the affordability program will see a decline in their water and

wastewater bills as a result of overall reductions in the rate structure.

To start with, customers in the program who use 2,000 gallons of water or less per month will not be assessed a fixed charge. And the fixed charge for those using more than 2,000 gallons will be $3.

The usage charges for those in the affordability program will be significantly reduced: $2.65 per 1,000 gallons for those using 6,000 or less and $4 per 1,000 gallons for up to 10,000 gallons — or $15.90 for 6,000 gallons and $40 for 10,000 gallons. The most a customer under the affordability plan will pay for water is $9.27 per 1,000 gallons for 15,000 or more gallons, or $139.05 for 15,000 gallons.

Customers in the affordability program will also not be assessed

a fixed charge for wasterwater service. And they won’t incur usage charges until they reach 2,000 gallons discharged, at which point, they’ll be charged $2.70 per 1,000 gallons.

Overall, most customers in the affordability program will pay at least 50 percent less than those not in the program. A customer at or below the poverty line will spend $25 less for 5,000 gallons under the new plan than under the current structure.

Commercial customers

General class customers — which include commercial, industry and multifamily establishments — who use 1,000 gallons or less a month will see their bills reduced by 2 percent. A business customer who uses 700 gallons per month will be charged $33.48 for water and wastewater under the new plan, down slightly from $34.22 under the existing rate structure.

Customers who use more than 1,000 gallons of water will see their combined water and wastewater bills rise by up 2 percent or 3 percent, depending on usage. For example, a large business that uses 200,000 gallons may see its bill rise from $1,986.45 to $2,088.59.

For those on a typical meter, the fixed charges for water and wastewater would be reduced to $12.70 and $10, respectively, down from $14.07 and $14.59.