Municipal Department
Frederick County Division of Water and Sewer Utilities (DWSU)
Serving Frederick County
Population served
74,911 people served according to the EPA queue; Frederick County DWSU reports approximately 39,000 water/sewer accounts across staggered county service areas.
State system code
FIPS 24
Billing frequency
Quarterly, with staggered cycles across the county; DWSU also reports a small number of water-only and sewer-only accounts.
Provider briefing
How this utility’s billing works
Frederick County Division of Water and Sewer Utilities (DWSU) operates as a municipal department serving Frederick County. 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 Fixed Ready-to-Serve charge plus tiered quarterly water-volume charges. County rates are published through June 30, 2027 and are adjusted annually each July 1 under the county ordinance.. Bills are generated quarterly, with staggered cycles across the county; dwsu also reports a small number of water-only and sewer-only accounts., and a typical residential cost reference is A dedicated this detail was not publicly posted. As a reliable 2026 household dollar estimate: the official pages expose the fixed-plus-tiered quarterly structure and current-rate period, but the accessible public text did not expose the complete current residential numeric table needed for a defensible 5,000-7,000-gallon calculation.. 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
For combined water/sewer accounts, the sewer charge uses a fixed component plus a quarterly amount tied to measured quarterly water consumption. Sewer-only accounts use a flat quarterly charge. The county's public FAQ describes the relationship and tier structure but the complete current numeric schedule was not exposed in the reviewed page text.
Meter and infrastructure notes
The county publishes meter-reading, interim-read, and service-line leak-check forms and bills on staggered quarterly cycles, but the reviewed 2026 pages do not identify a particular AMI/AMR vendor, transmission interval, or whether every account is physically read monthly. Confirm the meter technology for a specific premise with DWSU at 301-600-2354.
Emergency water support
Report a leak or water emergency
301-600-2194 for after-hours, holiday, and weekend water/sewer emergencies; 301-600-2187 handles maintenance during normal hours of 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Official starting point
Choose the right next step
Reading this profile
A practical reference for Frederick County
Frederick County Division of Water and Sewer Utilities (DWSU) is listed here as a municipal department. The profile separates account actions—such as paying a bill or requesting service—from explanatory material about rates, meters, wastewater, leaks, and delinquency.
Because utility rules can vary by account class, meter size, service address, billing date, and local ordinance, treat the published bill and current provider website as the final authority. Use this profile to locate the correct channel and prepare better questions for customer service.
If your issue is urgent, start with the provider’s emergency number or official payment route rather than waiting for an email response. Keep a written record of calls, confirmation numbers, notice dates, and documents you submit.