Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) / Water Revenue Bureau (WRB)
Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Water Department retail water, wastewater, and stormwater service territory
Population reference
1,600,000 people (EPA SDWIS PWS ID PA1510001; active community water system, Philadelphia County)
Billing detail
Partial 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. PWD’s completed AMI upgrade transmits usage information for more accurate monthly bills, and the current customer materials describe monthly automatic payments and monthly water-use information. The account statement controls the exact billing and due dates.
- Rate structure
- Metered volumetric water, wastewater, and stormwater charges under the Philadelphia Water, Sewer and Storm Water Rate Board’s FY2026–FY2027 rates. Ordinary customers pay for measured water use with service/account charges and separate stormwater components; customers enrolled in the Tiered Assistance Program receive an income-based bill rather than a standard usage-only charge. The official FY2026 rate memorandum states that new water, wastewater, stormwater, and TAP-R rates are effective September 1, 2025, with the next annual rate-period change scheduled for September 1, 2026. The full rate-board tables should be used for a particular meter size, property class, and billing period.
- Residential cost reference
- Approximately $75–$125 per month for a typical single-family account using 5,000–7,000 gallons, as a planning estimate that can vary by meter charges, wastewater, stormwater, property characteristics, and assistance enrollment. PWD does not present one universal 2026 single-family bill on the public customer page; the exact bill is controlled by the FY2026 rate-board tables and the account’s measured consumption. TAP customers instead receive predictable income-based bills and may earn debt forgiveness.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- PWD bills integrated water, wastewater, and stormwater services. Ordinary residential wastewater charges are connected to the account’s metered water use and the applicable Philadelphia rate-board service and volume charges; stormwater is a separate property/parcel charge. PWD’s current public residential pages do not publish a single universal winter-average percentage or a fixed sewer-to-water percentage for every account, so customers should use the statement and FY2026 rate tables. The customer guide and assistance pages also identify separate Notice of Defect and HELP processes for sewer laterals or plumbing conditions that threaten service.
- Meter reading
- PWD completed its multi-year Advanced Metering Infrastructure upgrade for more than 470,000 Philadelphia meters. A radio-enabled reading device is attached to the existing register, transmitting water-usage information securely without requiring a reader to enter the home. The current City meter page states that automatic readings are transmitted monthly for billing, while the AMI project provides daily usage information and leak alerts through MyPhillyWaterBill. If an AMR/AMI reading is unavailable, inconsistent, or a meter is damaged or inaccessible, PWD may estimate usage and customers should call (215) 685-6300 for a meter appointment or repair.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
71%
overview fields with research notes
Pennsylvania
37%
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
Partial public detail found
5 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
71%
Details not confirmed in the reviewed public material
- New-account deposit
- Activation or transfer fee
“Not confirmed” means the directory did not identify a dependable public statement. It does not mean the provider has no policy or option.
Primary verification routes
- Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) / Water Revenue Bureau (WRB) public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- water.phila.gov reference ↗
Public URL preserved in the compiled record. Confirm its publisher, date, and applicability before relying on it.
- EPA SDWIS / ECHO lookup (PA1510001) ↗
Search the federal drinking-water database using public water system ID PA1510001.