Some Watonga residents are up in arms because of their utility bills. Again.
But this set of angst is because the sewer portion of the bill may be more than the water portion.
The city recently morphed its billing for sewer usage to levelized winter month billing from a system that tied sewer charges to water use charges. The old system penalized those who gardened, watered lawns or filled pools because although that water seldom entered the sewer system, the resident was charged as if it did.
Under the new billing protocols, sewer usage in December, January and February is averaged and that amount charged each month for a year, when the averages are taken again.
While this removed the costs for those using more water in the summer months, it did push up the costs for residents who drip their pipes during the winter months to keep those pipes from freezing.
Watonga City Manager Leroy Alsup said he and the council had discussed this issue during meetings and workshops and knew going into it that some residents would be ouched by the policy.
“This is the reverse effect,” he said. “But we explained for it to be revenue neutral some people would have higher bills. You’ll have winners and losers with winter averaging.”
Revenue neutral is when a change shifts the way costs are distributed without significantly impacting the income or expenses of a department or business.
The new budget also addressed the base rates for water and sewer usage. Each has a monthly base rate of $20, a charge that was adopted last year and remains unchanged.
So how, then, can a sewer use charge be higher than water use if the levelized billing has been applied?
The devil is in the details. The cost per thousand gallons of water is $2.40, whereas the cost per thousand gallons – a unit on your bill – is $3.64. Prior to 2025, it was billed at $3.75 per unit.
So if a household uses three units of water, the cost is $7.20, plus the base rate of $20, for a total water fee of $27.20.
When the same household flushes three units into the sewer system, the cost is $10.92, plus the base rate of $20, for a total sewage charge of $30.92.
The three units used for illustration are for simplicity of calculation. The sewage units use per household is based on the winter average collected in December, January and February.
Anyone with questions about their utility bill can contact the Light and Water department or go by city hall at 410 W. Main Street.