City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities – Water and Wastewater Services
Richmond and the Richmond metropolitan area
Population reference
The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities provides water, wastewater, stormwater, gas, and streetlight services to more than 500,000 customers in the Richmond metropolitan area.
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 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.
- Rate structure
- 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.
- Residential cost reference
- 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.
- 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 reading
- 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.
- New-account deposit
- The 2026 Richmond regulation requires a $25 residential water security deposit when establishing service, with $50 required for residential gas; commercial/industrial minimum deposits are twice the residential amount per applicable service, and an applicant with an outstanding balance must also cover that balance. Deposits are refunded one billing cycle after account closure or applied to a past-due balance; a customer may transfer a deposit to a new service if the former account has no pending charges. The deposit interest rate begins at 0.25%, is reviewed annually on July 1, and no interest is paid on deposits held less than six months. MetroCare may waive deposits for qualifying seniors and DPU may waive charges for hardship or other specified reasons.
- Activation or transfer fee
- Richmond charges a $35 water service-establishment fee when an owner, occupant, or consumer establishes a water account at an existing or new structure. The Director may waive it for City infrastructure error, emergency restoration, qualifying economic hardship, qualifying elderly or disabled customers, same-cycle ownership transfers, or billing/administrative error. Service applications are to be processed within three business days, and a written dispute that remains unresolved for 90 days can support a request to waive the establishment charge.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Virginia
52%
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 Richmond Department of Public Utilities – Water and Wastewater Services public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- richmond.promise-pay.com 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.