Municipal Department
City of Raleigh Water
Serving Raleigh and the participating service communities of Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon
Population served
Raleigh Water serves Raleigh and six participating Wake County-area communities, representing more than 500,000 residents and utility customers across its water/wastewater billing service area.
State system code
FIPS 37
Billing frequency
Monthly for all customers. Payments are due 20 days from the bill date. Raleigh also offers a Budget Billing program that keeps a similar monthly payment amount while displaying actual usage and account balance; budget amounts are based on the prior year's metered water/wastewater charges and rate changes, and the account must remain current.
Provider briefing
How this utility’s billing works
City of Raleigh Water operates as a municipal department serving Raleigh and the participating service communities of Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon. 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 Three-tier increasing-block residential rates plus administrative/readiness-to-serve charges, infrastructure replacement charges, watershed protection fees, wastewater charges, stormwater, and solid-waste services. Effective July 1, 2026, inside-city residential water is $3.11 per CCF for 0-4 CCF, $5.41 for 5-20 CCF, and $6.97 for 21 or more CCF; irrigation is $6.97/CCF. One CCF equals 748 gallons. Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon are billed under the applicable participating-community schedules.. Bills are generated monthly for all customers. payments are due 20 days from the bill date. raleigh also offers a budget billing program that keeps a similar monthly payment amount while displaying actual usage and account balance; budget amounts are based on the prior year's metered water/wastewater charges and rate changes, and the account must remain current., and a typical residential cost reference is For a Raleigh inside-city household using 6,000 gallons per month, approximately 8.02 CCF, the water commodity component is about $34.85: $12.44 for the first 4 CCF and about $22.41 for the next 4.02 CCF, before administrative, readiness-to-serve, infrastructure, watershed, wastewater, stormwater, and solid-waste charges. A practical total utility-bill estimate for a 5,000-7,000-gallon household is roughly $110-$180 monthly depending on wastewater, stormwater, refuse, meter size, and account location; the water-only tier calculation is not the full City bill.. 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
Raleigh's consolidated monthly utility bill includes water, wastewater, stormwater, solid waste, recycling, and yard waste where applicable. Water and wastewater are separately metered/charged under the City's rate schedules; the City also applies infrastructure replacement and administrative charges. The 2026 residential wastewater schedule should be used with the customer's municipality and meter size. Non-returned irrigation/pool water is not automatically removed from sewer charges, so customers should request the applicable meter or adjustment process and use the leak policy rather than assume a winter-average credit.
Meter and infrastructure notes
Raleigh Water bills metered services monthly and provides usage history through Raleigh Water Self-Service. The current public pages do not claim universal hourly AMI for every premise; customers should use the portal's usage history and request a verified read when an account appears abnormal. The City has meter operations staff and uses automated/field processes to validate readings, with a $50 meter re-read charge when a requested reading is tested and found correct. Meter tampering, removal, reset, and damage can generate separate charges, and leak adjustments may require a verified City meter read.
Emergency water support
Report a leak or water emergency
Call Raleigh Water at (919) 996-3245 for water/sewer emergencies, water main breaks, leaks, fire-hydrant or water-valve damage, and after-hours service. Customer Care and Billing uses the same number for account and payment assistance, with normal office hours listed on Raleigh's customer-service pages and emergency response available after hours.
Official starting point
Choose the right next step
Reading this profile
A practical reference for Raleigh and the participating service communities of Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon
City of Raleigh Water 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.