Municipal Department
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD)
Serving City of Detroit
Population served
DWSD's 2025 official Water Quality Report says the system provides clean water to more than 645,000 residents and reports 213,737 active accounts; older City material describes more than 230,000 accounts and nearly 700,000 residents. The current report figure is used here because service population and account counts vary by reporting year and retail-service definition.
State system code
FIPS 26
Billing frequency
Monthly billing. The DWSD customer portal provides current and historical bills and real-time usage information, while the Water Quality Report describes monthly account activity and automated meter-reading support.
Provider briefing
How this utility’s billing works
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) operates as a municipal department serving City of Detroit. 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 Increasing two-tier volumetric structure with a fixed equivalent-unit service charge, separate sewer charges, and a drainage charge. The approved FY2026-27 schedule prices water at $28.57 per Mcf for the first 0.6 Mcf (6 CCF, approximately 4,488 gallons) and $51.21 per Mcf above 0.6 Mcf, plus an $8.68 monthly water service rate. Sewer is $63.13 per Mcf plus a $7.23 monthly sewer service rate, and drainage is $768.75 per billable acre per month. One Mcf is 1,000 cubic feet, or approximately 7.48 CCF.. Bills are generated monthly billing. the dwsd customer portal provides current and historical bills and real-time usage information, while the water quality report describes monthly account activity and automated meter-reading support., and a typical residential cost reference is Using the FY2026-27 approved schedule and approximately 5,000-7,000 gallons per month (about 6.7-9.4 CCF), a representative water-plus-sewer bill is roughly $86-$113 before the property-specific drainage charge. The estimate includes the fixed water and sewer service rates and the two-tier water/sewer volumetric charges; actual Detroit bills can be materially higher or lower because drainage is based on billable acreage/impervious-property rules and the account's measured consumption.. 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
DWSD bills sewerage using metered water consumption rather than a published winter-average formula in the reviewed rate materials. For FY2026-27, the sewer volumetric charge is $63.13 per Mcf (approximately $6.313 per CCF) plus a $7.23 monthly sewer service rate. A separate drainage charge is assessed at $768.75 per billable acre per month to fund stormwater collection and treatment; it is not simply a percentage of indoor water use. Private leaks can increase measured water usage, but an approved leak adjustment is generally a sewerage-only credit under DWSD's leak policy.
Meter and infrastructure notes
DWSD uses electronic automatic meter-reading infrastructure, including AMR meters, communication modules/MIUs, and AMR cable or equipment that is separately referenced in the approved fee schedule. The customer portal can expose real-time usage and the utility can help customers review hourly usage, where the installed equipment supports it. Bills are issued monthly, but the public materials do not promise a single universal read date or hourly transmission for every premise; the exact read and data cadence depends on meter installation and communications status. Customers should keep the meter and communications equipment accessible and report suspected leaks or abnormal usage promptly.
Emergency water support
Report a leak or water emergency
Call DWSD 24/7 at 313-267-8000 for a water-main break, street or meter-box leak, sewer backup, flooding, burst service line, or urgent water-quality issue. Residents can also submit infrastructure reports through the Improve Detroit app. DWSD is responsible for public mains and service lines to the curb stop; private owners generally handle piping from the curb stop to the building and private sewer laterals.
Official starting point
Choose the right next step
Reading this profile
A practical reference for City of Detroit
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) 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.