City of San Marcos SMTX Utilities / Utility Customer Service Division
San Marcos and eligible outside-city SMTX Utilities water and wastewater customers
Population reference
The City estimates 91,082 residents as of January 1, 2026; the 2020 Census count was 67,553. The utility serves city customers and publishes separate outside-city water and sewer schedules.
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, organized into four geographic cycles. Cycle 1 bills on the 16th, due the 3rd of the following month, disconnects the 14th; cycle 2 bills the 24th, due the 11th of the following month, disconnects the 21st; cycle 3 bills the 1st, due the 18th, disconnects the 28th; cycle 4 bills the 8th, due the 25th, disconnects the 4th of the following month. Weekend/holiday due and disconnect dates move to the next business day.
- Rate structure
- Increasing block/lifeline tiers with fixed minimums, inside-city/outside-city schedules, and a 2026 Community Benefit breakdown. For an inside-city 5/8-to-3/4-inch meter effective June 22, 2026, the minimum is $30.19 plus $0.06 customer-assistance, $0.70 conservation/energy-efficiency, and $1.81 franchise-fee components; 0-6,000 gallons are $5.17 per 1,000, 6,001-9,000 are $9.066, 9,001-12,000 are $10.368, 12,001-20,000 are $11.67, 20,001-50,000 are $12.953, and over 50,000 are $15.528, with a 6% franchise fee on gallon charges. The lifeline structure includes 0-6,000 gallons at no volumetric charge but has different minimum pricing.
- Residential cost reference
- For an inside-city 5/8-to-3/4-inch customer at 5,000 gallons, the water bill is approximately the $30.19 minimum plus $0.06 customer-assistance, $0.70 conservation, $1.81 franchise component, and five $5.17 units, or roughly $58.61 before any other utility services. Sewer uses the same meter class with a $31.76 minimum plus $0.06 assistance and $1.91 franchise components, with the first 2,000 gallons at $0 and the winter-average quantity above 2,000 charged at $9.16 per 1,000; using a 5,000-gallon sewer average produces about $61.25. A planning water-plus-sewer subtotal is therefore about $120 before electric, resource recovery, drainage, taxes, and any other bill lines. At 7,000 gallons, sewer may remain based on the established winter average rather than current use.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Residential sewer charges for 5/8-to-3/4-inch, 1-inch, and 1.5-inch meters are based on average water use from meter readings dated the previous December, January, and February. Accounts without December, January, or February history are set at 5,000 gallons. For a 5/8-to-3/4-inch inside-city meter effective June 22, 2026, the minimum is $31.76 plus $0.06 customer-assistance and $1.91 franchise components; consumption above 2,000 gallons is $9.16 per 1,000 with a 6% franchise fee, and single-family customers are not charged wastewater volume above 9,000 gallons. Outside-city rates and meter classes differ.
- Meter reading
- San Marcos Customer Connect lets customers view billing and usage history, receive threshold notifications, and manage one-time or recurring payments. The City does not identify the meter manufacturer or promise an hourly transmission interval, but the portal is designed to expose consumption data and usage alerts. Monthly billing uses four geographic cycles, and sewer winter averaging relies on December, January, and February meter readings.
- New-account deposit
- The published FY2026 water/wastewater fee schedule does not show a universal residential deposit amount or a credit-check waiver/refund schedule. It does show a $110 new-customer account fee for an existing service/meter, a residential new-service charge of meter cost plus $145 when a new meter must be installed, and a $2,000 temporary fire-hydrant/construction-meter deposit. Customers should confirm any account-specific security deposit with Utility Customer Service.
- Activation or transfer fee
- For an existing service/meter, the published fee is $110 for opening a new customer account and connecting water/wastewater service. New residential meter service is meter cost plus $145. A new account setup after hours is $100, and the fee schedule states after-hours means after 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time. The public materials do not list a separate ordinary transfer fee; delinquency reconnection is $40 during normal service and $170 after hours.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Texas
68%
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
- City of San Marcos SMTX Utilities / Utility Customer Service Division public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- tdhca.texas.gov reference ↗
Public URL preserved in the compiled record. Confirm its publisher, date, and applicability before relying on it.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.