Frequently Asked Questions

On April 26, the Oklahoma City Council approved a five-year rate adjustment program for all water, sewer, and solid waste (trash and recycling) services. The rates will adjust incrementally beginning June 2022.

1. Why are my water, sewer, and trash rates being adjusted?

Rates are being adjusted to fund the Utilities Department’s 5-year operations and maintenance program and a 5-year, $1.7 billion capital investment program. This capital program will safeguard our long-term water supply and allow for critical water and sewer infrastructure improvements for the 1.4 million residents we serve in Central Oklahoma through the year 2060. It also builds adequate funding reserves for residential storm debris removal, since Federal Emergency disaster funds are not available after every storm event.

2. Why now, especially with everything else going up? 
This rate adjustment was already scheduled as part of our long-term financial strategy and capital investment program. Per Oklahoma State law, we are prohibited from charging more than what it takes to cover our operational and capital expenses. As such, we conduct cost-of-service studies about every five years to ensure the fees we charge are sufficient to cover our needs.

The cost-of-service study also examines rates charged to customers based on their usage patterns. Adjustments are made to ensure rate equity among our varying customer classes so all customers are charged appropriately for the services they use.

3. How will this affect my bill? 

Bill impacts are dependent upon individual customer water or wastewater use. Rates will be adjusted incrementally over the next five years. 

Customers who use up to 2,000 gallons of water monthly will see an average annual adjustment of about 2.6%. (Includes 2,000 gallons of wastewater use; two blue trash carts and 1 green recycling cart + bulky trash)* 

Customer households using 7,000 gallons monthly (average residential use) will see about a 4.0% average adjustment for all services. (Includes 5,000 gallons of wastewater use; two blue trash carts and 1 green recycling cart + bulky trash)*

For higher-than-average water customers who use 20,000 gallons of water or more monthly, they will see an up to a 6.6% average annual adjustment. These customers typically use water outdoors for lawn and landscape care, swimming pools, and other outdoor activities. (includes 6,000 gallons of wastewater use; two blue trash carts and 1 green recycling cart + bulky trash)*

* These rates include water, wastewater, and basic solid waste service fees only. They do not include the mandated EPA fee of $5.69, the optional EMSA fee of $3.65 per month, or additional carts. Additional cart fees are being adjusted by about 16 cents/month each year for the next five-year period.

4. How did you determine the new rates? 
We hired a cost-of-service consultant to examine each aspect of our operations and consider what rates we need to charge to fund our operational expenses, infrastructure priorities, and long-term water supply strategies based on the needs of our different customer groups. The rates are spread out incrementally for all customers over five years. Rate adjustments for customers who only use water for indoor purposes have been minimized.

5. I use more water in the summer. Why am I being charged more? 
Our long-term goal is to safeguard our long-term water supply while ensuring our water remains affordable for customers who use water for basic life needs. We do this by minimizing rate adjustments for customers' indoor water use (laundry, dishes, personal hygiene) while implementing rates to encourage conservation among customers who use excess water for outdoor landscaping, garden ponds, swimming pools, and recreation.  Outdoor water use places more demand on our system, and our water supply. These customers pay more since they use more. 

6. What are some of the infrastructure improvements I hear about, and why are they needed? 
The OKC Water Utilities Trust is working to safeguard our long-term water supply so we can meet the needs of our growing customer base through 2060. We manage more than 7,000 miles of water and wastewater pipes and operate two treatment facilities and four wastewater treatment facilities. Our water supply consists of seven surface reservoirs that span 250 miles from northwest to southeast Oklahoma.

Along with multiple smaller infrastructure projects, key planned system improvements include:

  • Construction of the second Atoka pipeline, a 100-mile line that will transport additional allocated water supply from southeast Oklahoma to the Draper Reservoir for treatment. This line will run in alignment with the current line that was completed in 1962 and is being built to ensure we can adequately meet future water demand. 
  • New lines that will provide a direct connection between the Hefner and Draper water treatment systems to provide continuity of service in the event of a water plant outage. The first phase of this project was already completed. Phase II is set to begin in 2025.

6. I use more than 20,000 gallons in the summer. What can I do to help lower my water bill? 
Our water conservation team offers many ideas on how you can save water, especially outdoors. Visit squeezeeverydrop.com to learn what watering habits you can change that will help you lower your bill.

Common causes of high bills include:

  • Toilet leaks. Toilet leaks, especially silent leaks, can add thousands of gallons to your water bill. Check your toilets for leaks by adding a few drops of food coloring into your toilet tank, then wait a few minutes without flushing. If color shows up in the bowl, try adjusting or replacing the flapper. This can also happen with new toilets and flappers.
  • Check your sprinkler system. Turn on each zone and look for broken heads, water spraying into the street or sidewalk, or excessive runtimes on your controller. Also look for leaks at your valve box, backflow device, and signs of underground leaks such as puddling or mushy ground. 
  • Sprinkler systems use between 15 and 30 gallons of water every minute. Check out our free sprinkler check-up guide to make sure you're using water efficiently. 
  • Know how much water your grass needs. Most local lawn grasses, including Bermuda and Zoisia, do not need more than 1” of water per week. Check our watering chart on squeezeeverydrop.com to see how much water your lawn needs, and get tips on how to water efficiently.
  • Check your swimming pool or garden pond. Look around the pump or autofill valve to ensure they are not leaking.
  • Reduce your sewer charge. Save money by turning sprinklers off during the winter. Your sewer charge is based upon the average amount of water billed in December, January, and February. This average caps the monthly sewer charge for the billing year, beginning in April. Lowering your winter period water use, especially for outdoor watering, can significantly reduce your bill.

8. I don't understand what the storm reserve for solid waste is. Please explain.

Central Oklahoma is known for its extreme weather, including tornadoes and ice storms, both of which can damage property and landscapes. When necessary, the State of Oklahoma can issue a disaster declaration, which opens opportunities for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, not all storms are severe enough to qualify for FEMA reimbursement, and when they do, reimbursement can often take 2-3 years. This adjustment ensures adequate reserve funds are available to meet customer needs when disaster strikes.

9. I may have a hard time with these new rates. 

We understand emergencies and financial hardships can happen and offer the following customer assistance programs to help: 

  • Bill averaging for customers whose bills fluctuate between the winter/spring and summer months
  • A reduced solid waste services rate for customers who qualify under the Federal poverty rate guidelines
  • Bill assistance programs to help folks who may miss a payment
  • We partner with the Salvation Army and other outside agencies to help customers with their water bill needs.

10. What about the new multi-family customer class?

This new customer class helps support equity among our customer groups by creating a new class for multi-family customers. These customers have higher impacts on our wastewater system, especially in their use of fats, oils, and grease, which cause higher operational and maintenance charges. As such, they are being charged higher amounts for wastewater services. However, these customers also use lower-than-average amounts of water, so their water charges align more with low-volume customers. This new class offers a lower water rate while adjusting wastewater charges to reflect their usage patterns.