Western is dedicated to keeping your water costs as low as possible, working tirelessly to keep our operations cost-efficient while ensuring supply reliability.

Here is a breakdown of the charges on your water bill and how each is calculated. For additional details, see the links below or contact Western's Customer Service team at 951.571.7104 or via email to billing@wmwd.com.

Total Water Charge
Water Reliability Charge
MWD Readiness-to-Serve Charge
Pumping Charge
System Charge

Total Water Charge

Your total water charge is the cost of actual water delivered to you during the billing period. The water is measured in hundred cubic feet (HCF)* by the water meter on your property.

*A hundred cubic feet is equal to 748 gallons.

How it is calculated?
This charge is based on the amount of water delivered through the meter multiplied by the water rate.  The water rate varies based on “tiers” that encourage conservation.

Western’s water rate tiers
Western's lowest rate tiers are for indoor and outdoor water use (Tiers 1 and 2). Tier 1 plus Tier 2 equals a customer’s total water budget for the billing period. Staying within your water budget is considered efficient water use. If a customer uses more than their total water budget, they elevate themselves into the less efficient and more expensive rate tiers (Tiers 3-5), which are considered inefficient, wasteful and unsustainable water use.

Water Reliability Charge - Riverside Service Area Customers Only

The water reliability charge is used to invest in facilities that increase local water supplies, guard against imported-water shortages and ensure uninterrupted local access to water.

These facility investments – including the La Sierra Pipeline, the Sterling Pump Station, and the Arlington and Chino groundwater desalter projects – add to our local water supply and reduce reliance on imported water.

How it is calculated?
This charge is 42 cents per 748 gallons (1 HCF) that a customer uses.

MWD Readiness-to-Serve Charge - Riverside Service Area Water Customers Only

This charge is a direct pass-through charge from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, the water agency Western imports most of its water supply from.

This charge helps maintain MWD-managed storage basins such as Lake Skinner and Diamond Valley Lake, and ensures Western’s access to water in the event of an emergency, natural disaster or long-term drought.

How it is calculated?
This pass-through charge from MWD is based on your property’s meter size. While Western is the agency collecting the charge, Western does not keep any money from this charge.

Pumping Charge

The pumping charge is the price of the energy required to move water from its source to the Western storage reservoir that serves your area. Because these reservoirs are located on high ground, gravity takes over to bring the water down to individual properties.

How it is calculated?
This charge multiplies the amount of water a customer uses – that is, the number of HCF delivered – by the cost of pumping 1 HCF to the reservoir serving that customer’s property. Some service areas, or zones, require more energy to serve than others due to their location and elevation.

System Charge 

The system charge pays for the cost to provide instant, anytime access to clean water. It covers Western’s fixed costs that are required to sustain access and keep the entire system running safely. These costs include water treatment, quality-control testing, environmental compliance, maintenance and repairs, administrative costs and more.

This charge is similar to the fixed charge on a Netflix bill. Each customer pays a fixed cost for access to content, regardless of how much or how little is utilized.

How it is calculated?
For residential customers, this fixed charge is about $35 to $60 per month based on the size of the meter on your property. The larger the meter, the more demand you can put on the system and therefore the higher your cost to access the system.

For more information or to get your questions answered, contact Western's Customer Service team at 951.571.7104.

Adopted Rates Summaries by Service Area