SOUTH BEND WATER WORKS
SOUTH BEND
Population reference
115000 people (EPA SDWIS 2026Q2 active CWS estimate for IN5271014)
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; South Bend Municipal Utilities issues a monthly combined bill for trash, water, and sewer, and payments are due by 5:00 p.m. on the date printed on the bill.
- Rate structure
- Increasing block/tiered consumption pricing plus a meter-size minimum. The latest rate sheet publicly linked by the City is labeled 2025 and carries the Jan. 25, 2024/Jan. 1, 2025 schedule: inside-city 5/8-inch minimum $12.29 and usage tiers of $2.718 per CCF for the first 5 CCF, $2.361 for 6-20 CCF, $2.074 for 21-75 CCF, then lower tiers. One CCF is 748 gallons. The 2026 city page does not expose a replacement rate sheet, so these are the latest posted schedule figures rather than an asserted new 2026 increase.
- Residential cost reference
- Using the latest publicly posted inside-city 5/8-inch schedule and 6,000 gallons (about 8.02 CCF), water is approximately $20.63 ($12.29 minimum plus 5 CCF at $2.718 and about 3.02 CCF at $2.361). Sewer is approximately $43.35 before other charges using the $34.96 5/8-inch sewer base plus $3.29/CCF, for about $63.98 combined water/sewer. The estimate excludes solid waste, stormwater, clean-air, UAP, and other bill lines, and the latest public rate sheet is dated 2025.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Sewer combines a meter-size base charge with a usage charge per 100 cubic feet. The latest posted inside-city 5/8-inch schedule shows a $34.96 sewer base and $3.29 per CCF. Residential sewer charges are maximized using average use during the most recent winter quarter; if a winter leak artificially inflates that maximum, the customer may submit a written request for review and adjustment. The City does not offer a residential water-volume leak adjustment, but may review non-residential sewer-only credits when documentation proves leaked water did not enter the sewer.
- Meter reading
- The current public materials describe monthly statements and meter-based billing but do not identify the meter manufacturer, AMI/AMR communications method, or read calendar. Customers can view billed usage history in the portal, and the City advises checking the physical meter when investigating a leak; exact technology and route schedule are not publicly documented.
- New-account deposit
- A new applicant may owe a deposit determined from prior payment history with South Bend or another utility; the published range is $0 to as much as two months of estimated water and sewer bills by meter size. The deposit can be billed. For prior South Bend customers within two years, waiver requires no bills outstanding within four years, no more than two past-due bills during the last 12 consecutive service months, and no nonpayment disconnection within two years. Equivalent documentation from another utility may qualify a new applicant for waiver.
- Activation or transfer fee
- Customers getting water service are charged a $30 start-service fee on the first billing statement; customers with trash also receive a $10 administrative fee. Starting service requires proof of ownership or valid lease, photo ID, payment of past-due balances, and any required deposit. Transfer/reinstatement uses the same start-service framework; no separate transfer amount is published.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Indiana
48%
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
- SOUTH BEND WATER WORKS public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- southbendin.gov reference ↗
Public URL preserved in the compiled record. Confirm its publisher, date, and applicability before relying on it.
- EPA SDWIS / ECHO lookup (IN5271014) ↗
Search the federal drinking-water database using public water system ID IN5271014.