City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities – Water and Wastewater Services

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities – Water and Wastewater Services operates as a municipal department serving Richmond and the Richmond metropolitan area. 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 residential water commodity rates with separate flat monthly water and wastewater service charges, uniform wastewater volume pricing, and parcel-based stormwater charges. Effective July 1, 2026, a 5/8-inch meter has an $18.90 water base charge and a $24.56 wastewater base charge; water is $3.35 per CCF for the first four CCF and $7.09 above four CCF, while wastewater volume is $10.24 per CCF. A lifeline tier protects the first four CCF, and stormwater varies by developed single-family parcel area.. Bills are generated monthly for water, wastewater, stormwater, and other dpu utility services. richmond's 2026 customer-service regulation targets approximately 30 days between associated meter-reading events and allows a normal billing interval of no more than 60 days. the july 2026 rate change is split on bills so usage and base fees through june 30 are charged at prior rates and usage on or after july 1 at the new rates., and a typical residential cost reference is Richmond's official July 2026 example for a 5/8-inch residential meter using 6 CCF in one month totals $132.48 for water and wastewater: $18.90 water base, $24.56 wastewater base, $27.58 water volume, and $61.44 wastewater volume. A 5,000-7,000-gallon household generally uses about 5-9 CCF, so a practical water/wastewater planning range is roughly $118-$175 per month before the separate developed-parcel stormwater charge, solid-waste fees, taxes, or unusual adjustments.. 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

Richmond wastewater volume is billed per CCF at the same $10.24 rate regardless of consumption, with a separate meter-size wastewater service charge. From March through November, the wastewater bill is adjusted to the lesser of actual water use or the customer's average monthly water usage billed during the preceding December-February period, recognizing outdoor use that does not enter the treatment plant. The 2026 regulation also allows a customer with significant non-returned water, such as irrigation, pools, cooling, industrial processes, or qualifying reclaimed use, to request wastewater billing based on an approved submeter; the application requires a schematic, use description, possible plumbing inspection, and a nonrefundable $150 review fee.

Meter and infrastructure notes

Richmond DPU uses electronically transmitting meters and mobile/manual reading procedures. The 2026 regulation targets approximately 30 days between reading events, permits no more than 60 days as the normal billing interval, and requires at least two access attempts in a cycle, including one between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., before treating access as unsuccessful. If a residential water meter is suspected of malfunctioning, DPU estimates from AWWA M6 testing or the prior 12-month average and limits consecutive estimates to three when practicable. The 2024 high-bill FAQ explains that inaccessible electronic transmission can cause estimates; after a meter replacement, DPU tests the old meter and can use the new meter to establish a daily average consumption.