Utility Information
The City of Port Townsend takes pride in operating and maintaining its state-of-the-art water and wastewater treatment facilities and its complex stormwater drainage system.
The City bills customers for Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, and other Miscellaneous account services.
Recent rate changes went into effect April 1, 2024 after Port Townsend City Council passed historic ordinances Feb. 20, 2024 for utility rates and utility tax to address aging sewer and stormwater infrastructure. In tandem with the new rate structure, Council voted to expand the City's Income-Based Discount Program in order to address affordability of the increased rates. Read the 2024 Utility Rate Presentation.
Note: If you are looking to establish service at your new residence, please submit a Home Owner Application or Tenant Application. Thank you!
RATE OVERVIEW
Current charges on your bill are made up of Base Fees, Consumption Fees, Applicable Taxes, and Adjustments.
WATER
Having a water meter essentially reserves the amount of water in our system that your meter is capable of carrying. Whether you use it or not, the City is required by state regulations to provide you with that capacity. Your total monthly water fee is comprised of two charges; a flat base rate and a usage-based consumption fee. The base rate charge is for reservation of capacity - and all premises, whether occupied or vacant - shall be billed a base rate, based on meter size, for reservation of capacity. The usage fee (consumption) reflects the amount of water you have actually used. Usage or Consumption is rounded down to the nearest thousand gallons. Example: use of 3,268 gallons will be billed for 3,000 gallons. The remaining balance of 268 gallons is carried forward to the next meter reading period, and you are billed once usage reaches a full 1,000 gallons.
Monthly water base rates for a standard Residential account (with 5/8"-3/4" water meter) inside city limits is $60.69 per month, effective April 1, 2024. For larger meter rates, outside City limits rates, and income-based discount rates, view the complete rate sheet.
Monthly water consumption fees are $4.54 per 1,000 gallons for residential consumption inside city limits, effective April 1, 2024. For additional account types and irrigation rates, view the complete rate sheet.
WASTEWATER
Most residential accounts have a flat-rate usage charge while multi-family & commercial accounts have a base rate determined by meter size in addition to a usage or consumption charge. Wastewater charges have been established to pay for the service, extension, and management of the City’s sewer system which includes the operation of pumping, treatment, and disposal of solid waste. Rates below are current as of April 1, 2024. Sewer rates will increase by 13% each year over the next five years.
Monthly Wastewater Rates for a standard Residential account (with a 5/8"-3/4" meter) inside city limits is $63.36 (if water consumption is under 3,000 gallons) or $78.33 (if water consumption is over 3,000 gallons), effective April 1, 2024. For larger meter rates, outside City limit rates, and income-based discount rates, view the complete rate sheet.
STORMWATER
Charges are assessed on that area of your property designated as impervious surface. This means areas that are paved or otherwise do not let water pass through (i.e., your driveway and/or area covered by your house or other structures). City Ordinance allows for Stormwater charges even though you may not actually have storm drains on or near your property. The charges cover construction and maintenance of the entire city-wide system. Rates below are current as of April 1, 2024. Stormwater rates will increase by 10% each year for the next five years.
Monthly Stormwater Rates are $20.05 ($19.55 Stormwater, $0.50 Urban Forestry Fee) for residences with impervious area of up to 3,000 square feet. Note: If impervious area is in excess of 3,000 sq ft; monthly fee is: Impervious area/3,000 x $20.05. For more information and income-based discount rates, view the complete rate sheet.
APPLICABLE TAXES
Applicable Taxes include: State B&O Tax at 1.75%, State Sewer Collection Tax at 3.825%, City Tax on Gross Utility Revenues at 16%. City taxes fund general government services such as parks, streets, police, facilities, and more. Fees for utilites are necessary to maintain and invest in our utility system and are required to keep service abailable at the property even if there is no usage. The City must operate and maintain the water and wastewater treatment plants and these cost s continue to be incurrred regardless of actual water consumption and are allocated to all utility customers.
ADJUSTMENTS
Miscellaneous fees include Account Start Up fees, Late fees, Account Closure / Final Read fees, Leak Check fees and more. For a complete list of fees, view our Fees and Charges.
PAYING YOUR BILL
Utility bills are generated the last day of the month and payments are due by the 20th of the following month. Payments received after the 25th of the month may not be reflected on the next bill. We accept payments via credit card, cash, check, and money order. For more information on paying your bill, or to pay online, go to our Utility Bill Payment page.
WATER LEAKS
The City of Port Townsend works hard to eliminate water distribution system leaks however, many leaks occur on the customer’s side of the meter, which are the homeowner’s responsibility. Finding and repairing them saves water and money. Please click here for more information on detecting leaks or requesting a leak check.
2024 utility rate adjustments & sewer system upgrades
Read the 2024 Utility Rate Presentation.
New rates are necessary to support the separate business units of Water, Sewer, and Stormwater at the City. Significant investments are needed to maintain and upgrade our aging systems. The utilities require $20 million in City investment in the next five years, which is in addition to $10 million in anticipated grant funding for the system. Learn more about some of the sewer system upgrades in our video on Sewer System Investments. Watch the eight-minute video on our YouTube channel.
On February 20, 2024, Port Townsend City Council passed historic ordinances for utility rates and utility tax to address aging sewer and stormwater infrastructure. In tandem with the new rate structure, Council voted to expand the City's Income-Based Discount Program in order to address affordability of the increased rates. The ordinances have been presented and discussed in several Council meetings since late 2023, including Infrastructure and Development Committee, Regular Meetings, and Council Workshops. All meetings and presentations on utilities from February 2024 can be found below, and additional meetings may be found in the Agendas & Minutes archive on our website.
The City's current stormwater and sewer rate ordinances require rate increases annually to keep up with inflation and fund capital improvements. A study was conducted to set rates for the next five years, and the new rates will be effective starting April 1, 2024.The new ordinances include four main components:
- Updating sewer and stormwater rates including merging the capital surcharge into the base rate: Sewer rates will increase by 13% each year and stormwater rates will increase by 10% each year for the next five years.
- Updating the code for an expanded Income-Based Discount Program: The City’s Income-Based Utility Discount Program has expanded from one level of eligibility to include three tiers of eligibility with discounts ranging from 25% to 75% off the base rate.
- Updating the System Development Charges (SDC) amount and structure: Stormwater and SDC rates are now assessed on a graduated scale, based on impervious area. The stormwater fees now include an urban forestry fee for tree planting and maintenance.
- Updating the utility tax rate based on gross revenue calculations and proposed rate structure: The utility tax rate was reduced from 18% to 16% as part of the rate changes that went into effect April 1, 2024. City taxes fund general government services such as parks, streets, police, facilities, planning, and more. Other taxes included in your rates are State Business & Occupation Tax at 1.75% and State Sewer Collections Tax at 3.852%.
Council Presentations:
General Business Meeting: First Reading: February 5, 2024
Council Workshop: February 12, 2024
General Business Meeting: Second Reading: February 20, 2024
More information can be found in Port Townsend Municipal Code Chapter 13.5, and are be posted below.
Visit the City of Port Townsend Utilities Map for location of meter boxes, water mains, sewer-service connections and more.
The ordinances have been presented and discussed in several Council meetings since late 2023, including Infrastructure and Development Committee, Regular Meetings, and Council Workshops. All meetings and presentations on utilities from February 2024, can be found below and additional meetings may be found in the Agendas & Minutes archive on our website.
