City of Modesto Utilities Department – Utility Billing and Water Services
Modesto and portions of Ceres, Del Rio, Empire, Grayson, Salida, and Turlock
Population reference
218,771 people for PWS CA5010010 in the California State Water Board project data; the City separately reports more than 75,000 water-service connections and approximately 80,000 monthly utility-billing customers across water, sewer, storm-drain, and garbage services.
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly. The billing period runs from the first through the last day of each month, and bills are due on the 25th of the month.
- Rate structure
- Uniform volumetric rate plus a fixed meter-size charge, with a drought surcharge only when a drought emergency is declared. As of January 1, 2026, a 5/8–3/4-inch meter has a $28.86 monthly base charge and consumption is $2.30 per CCF (100 cubic feet, 748 gallons) under the non-drought rate. The City’s rate study lists a future drought rate of $2.80 per CCF effective October 1, 2026 if applicable, but the current public metered-rate page lists $2.30 as the active non-drought rate.
- Residential cost reference
- For a common 5/8–3/4-inch meter using 5,000–7,000 gallons (about 6.68–9.36 CCF), the 2026 water-only estimate is approximately $44.22–$50.39 before sewer, storm-drain, and garbage charges: $28.86 fixed plus $2.30 per CCF. The FY2026–27 single-family sewer charge is $5.60 per account plus $43.97 per dwelling, producing an estimated water-and-sewer total of about $93.79–$99.96 before other municipal services and any assistance credit.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Modesto’s published FY2026–27 residential sewer schedule is primarily a fixed monthly charge rather than a winter-average percentage of water intake: $5.60 per account plus $43.97 per single-family dwelling, with lower dwelling charges for 2–4-unit properties and apartments. Commercial sewer is flow and strength based, using CCF-equivalent flow and BOD/TSS categories. The City’s billing FAQ states that ready-to-serve sewer and storm-drain charges continue monthly even if water is disconnected for nonpayment; water consumption itself is metered separately.
- Meter reading
- The City is fully metered as of January 2023 and reads water meters once each month to calculate the difference between the current and prior readings. Modesto uses automated meter reading (AMR): meter readers electronically collect data while driving within roughly 300 feet of meters rather than manually reading each property. The City reports more than 70,000 water meters in operation and says AMR supports more accurate billing and immediate leak detection. A 2026 City planning document says a full AMI replacement/update project remains on hold, so this is AMR with monthly billing rather than a completed two-way hourly AMI network.
- New-account deposit
- A deposit may be required to establish service, with the amount varying by location and based on the average monthly billing for service at that location. A deposit is also added to an active account when service is disconnected for nonpayment. The deposit is applied to the closing bill and any remaining credit is refunded; the current public FAQ does not publish a universal dollar amount, credit-check waiver, or fixed on-time-payment release schedule.
- Activation or transfer fee
- The current public pages do not publish a universal standard activation or transfer fee. Start, stop, and transfer requests can be made through the secure online forms/portal, by phone at (209) 577-5395, or in person at 1010 Tenth Street Suite 2100. A start date must be within five business days of the application; if service is already off, completing the request before 2:00 p.m. can permit same-day restoration. Temporary water shutoff for repairs is described as free through Water Services, but that is distinct from account activation.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
California
67%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
7 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
100%
Primary verification routes
- City of Modesto Utilities Department – Utility Billing and Water Services public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- csd.ca.gov reference ↗
Public URL preserved in the compiled record. Confirm its publisher, date, and applicability before relying on it.
- EPA SDWIS / ECHO lookup (CA5010010) ↗
Search the federal drinking-water database using public water system ID CA5010010.