Water and Wastewater Rates

Healdsburg water and wastewater rates are set to cover water supply, distribution, and treatment costs as well as system and equipment maintenance, staff wages, and overhead costs.

  1. Current Rates
  2. Past Rates
  3. Rate Eligibility

Healdsburg Water and Wastewater rates increased July 1, 2024 on a three-year rates schedule. Healdsburg Water and Wastewater carefully analyzed rates to determine necessary rate changes in order to continue reliable operations and water service.

Why are the rates increasing?

Water and Wastewater represent individual utilities within the City that rely on collecting sufficient rate revenues to support the cost of providing each service. Cost inflation, lower than expected water sales, new water treatment requirements, and the need to replace century-old water pipelines are all driving these increases. For an average single-family home, the proposed rates are expected to increase monthly combined water/wastewater bills by roughly $35. We recognize that rate increases create a burden for many customers. We also acknowledge the frustration when commendable conservation efforts are cited as one of the causes. The reality is that the costs to operate the water and sewer systems do not go down when usage goes down. The City has deferred investments in our aging infrastructure in recent years, but that is not sustainable in the long run. We also need to make investments to diversify our water supply and reduce the need for drastic cutbacks in future droughts.

  • The new rate structure introduced 3 tiers for residential water. While rate increases will be significant for high water users, they will be more modest for water-efficient customers.
  • There are 120 miles of utility pipeline. 1/3 of pipes are over 50-100 years old, needing replacement for overall reliability.
  • Surface rights on the Russian River (from Lake Mendocino) make up 80% of our water supply. Increased pumping capacity along Dry Creek (from Lake Sonoma) will bolster our water resiliency, especially with the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project impacting future water supply from Lake Mendocino.

To learn more, please review the materials below:

Bill Discounts & Ways to Save

Healdsburg Water and Wastewater offers bill discount and rebate programs:

To avoid increased annual bills, families could replace 1,500 square feet of lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping and save nearly 40,000 gallons per year. A front-loading energy efficient clothes washer could also save indoor water to help reduce the winter Seasonal Sewer Average for residential wastewater charges and reduce overall water consumption, saving $185 per year.