City of San Marcos SMTX Utilities / Utility Customer Service Division

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

City of San Marcos SMTX Utilities / Utility Customer Service Division operates as a municipal department serving San Marcos and eligible outside-city SMTX Utilities water and wastewater customers. 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 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.. Bills are generated 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., and a typical residential cost reference is 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.. 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

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 and infrastructure notes

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.