Santa Cruz Municipal Utilities (SCMU)

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

Santa Cruz Municipal Utilities (SCMU) operates as a municipal department serving City of Santa Cruz and selected unincorporated Santa Cruz County water-only areas. Customers should use the provider’s current account-specific bill and official customer-service instructions as the final authority for deadlines, balances, and service requests.

The published water-rate framework is described as Residential inclining block rates in CCF, with a separate infrastructure reinvestment fee. FY2026 rates effective July 1, 2025 are $11.10 plus $2.99 IRF per CCF for Tier 1 at 0-5 CCF, $14.98 plus $5.59 IRF for Tier 2 at 6-9 CCF, and $18.21 plus $8.89 IRF for Tier 3 at 10 CCF and above; the 5/8-inch readiness-to-serve charge is $17.89 per month.. Bills are generated monthly scmu billing; the water rate and assistance programs describe monthly bills and monthly credits. sewer low-water-use classification is recalculated annually from winter usage., and a typical residential cost reference is At 7,000 gallons, approximately 9.36 CCF, a 5/8-inch inside-city residential account's water estimate under FY2026 rates is $17.89 + 5 x ($11.10+$2.99) + 4.36 x ($14.98+$5.59), or approximately $178 before any sewer, refuse or utility-user-tax charges. A complete combined total depends on the residential sewer rate tier and refuse selection.. These descriptions are useful planning benchmarks; actual charges can change with meter size, usage, sewer averaging, local taxes, drought stages, or account-specific fees.

Wastewater and sewer calculation

SCMU sewer rates use fixed and volumetric residential components based on estimated dwelling-unit use. Low-water-use versus regular sewer billing is determined each May from the average of the lowest four of five winter months, December-April; if total winter use is 9 CCF or less, the customer qualifies for the lower sewer rate for the following year. The City treats indoor water as the main sewer-flow proxy rather than applying a simple universal percentage.

Meter and infrastructure notes

SCMU's 2026 leak policy explicitly uses hourly or quarter-hourly meter-reading data when available, and its customer assistance program supports early leak notification. The City is replacing the current portal/billing system in late 2026; the reviewed public pages do not identify the meter manufacturer or universal transmission interval.