West Virginia-American Water Company
Portions of West Virginia, including Charleston, Huntington, Kanawha Valley, Putnam, Cabell, Fayette, Jefferson, Mercer, Raleigh, Wayne, and other listed communities
Population reference
Approximately 550,000–600,000 people statewide. The company’s current About Us page says about 550,000 people, while recent company material describes approximately 583,000 to 610,000 people as acquisitions and service areas are incorporated; the company is West Virginia’s largest regulated investor-owned water utility.
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 the standard general service tariff, although the company’s rate page states that some residential customers may be billed quarterly based on the regular meter-reading schedule and service territory. Monthly bills are based on days of service, customer classification, meter size, and consumption; estimated bills are clearly marked when a reading is unavailable.
- Rate structure
- PSC-regulated increasing-block volumetric rates with a meter-size minimum charge, municipal tax surcharges, and a 2026 Distribution System Improvement Charge. Effective March 1, 2026, the standard tariff places the first 1,500 gallons at the minimum charge, the next 28,500 gallons at $21.5274 per 1,000 gallons, then progressively lower blocks for very high consumption. The standard 3/4-inch-or-less minimum is $48.54 per month. Rates can differ for Bluefield Valley Water Works, former Jefferson Utilities, municipalities, recently acquired systems, and qualified low-income customers.
- Residential cost reference
- Under the standard 2026 tariff for a 3/4-inch-or-less meter, a 5,000-gallon month is approximately $123.89 for water before the 2026 DSIC and local taxes. Standard wastewater is approximately $132.13 at 5,000 gallons before the WSIC and local taxes, producing an indicative combined water-and-wastewater total of about $262 per month after adding the approximate 2.5% water DSIC and 2.02% wastewater WSIC, but actual bills vary materially by municipality, tax surcharge, wastewater territory, meter size, and whether the account is water-only. The company’s public rate summary says the March 2026 change raises an average 3,000-gallon water bill by about $6 and wastewater bill by about $7.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Where West Virginia American Water provides wastewater, sewer service is metered from water consumption and cannot be billed below the monthly minimum. The current standard wastewater tariff lists a $71.34 minimum, which covers the first 2,500 gallons, and $24.3147 per 1,000 gallons above 2,500; Nitro has a separate lower schedule. Wastewater has a 2026 WSIC surcharge, and local sewer arrangements or municipal taxes can add charges. For unusual consumption caused by an eligible customer-side leak, the tariff uses an incremental wastewater cost of $2.10 per 1,000 gallons above historical average usage rather than the full ordinary wastewater rate.
- Meter reading
- The company bills from regular meter readings, monthly or quarterly depending on residential route and service territory. Current bill documentation distinguishes actual readings from estimates and shows the meter number, read dates, previous/current readings, billing units, gallons, and next scheduled read date; inaccessible meters are estimated from historical usage and marked accordingly. The reviewed West Virginia-specific official pages do not identify a universal AMI vendor, hourly transmission interval, or statewide smart-meter deployment; the reliable published standard is route-based meter reading with monthly or quarterly billing.
- New-account deposit
- No single universal dollar deposit is published for all residential applicants. The filed residential security-deposit rule evaluates each applicant individually. A deposit may be required if the applicant was delinquent for more than 45 days within the prior six years or previously disconnected for nonpayment, or if a new customer cannot document qualifying employment, homeownership, active military status, qualifying student employment, retirement/disability income, or an acceptable guarantor. The company must explain the no-deposit criteria and review them with an applicant who is determined to need a deposit; the amount is account-specific under the applicable PSC rules and tariff.
- Activation or transfer fee
- The ordinary residential turn-on or account-transfer amount is not published as one universal statewide fee in the reviewed current customer pages. New service connections are separate: the filed terms state that a new service tap fee is listed in the tariff, and the general tariff materials identify a $300 ordinary sewer connection charge and $300 water tap/connection charge in the applicable schedule, with construction extensions charged by actual cost. Customers should request the exact service-start, transfer, meter, and tap charges for the specific municipality at 1-800-685-8660.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
West Virginia
38%
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
- West Virginia-American Water Company public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.