New “conservation” water rate goes into effect

Madison Water Utility residential customers will see a new “conservation” rate on their bills beginning in mid-November. The rate actually goes into effect today (9/29/2015), but customers won’t start seeing the impact on their bills until the 2nd week of November.
 
Previously, residential customers paid a flat rate of $2.81 per 1,000 gallons. Under the new plan approved this week by the Public Service Commission, usage charges will vary depending on the amount of water used. The change makes Madison the largest city in Wisconsin to offer a residential water rate that rewards conservation.
 
Starting today, the following rate tiers are place for residential customers (people living in single-family homes and duplexes):
 

Usage per billing month                             Cost per 1,000 gallons

 
First 3,000 Gallons / Month                           $2.84
Next 3,000 Gallons / Month                           $3.26
Next 3,000 Gallons / Month                           $3.60
Next 5,000 Gallons / Month                           $4.50
Over 14,000 Gallons / Month                         $5.07
 
Usage per billing month

Under the new plan, the water bill for an average residential customer will increase from $17.24 per month to $19.51, or 13 percent.
 
MWU encourages customers to find out exactly how much water they’re using by taking advantage of the utility’s new online conservation tool. The tool lets people track their weekly, daily, even hourly water use online and set up usage threshold notification alerts.
 
Non-Residential Customers
New water rates are also going into effect today for Madison Water Utility’s multi-family, industrial, commercial and public authority customers. The overall increase in water revenues across MWU’s five customer classes is 30.69 percent. Click here to view a comparison of previous and current rates for each customer class. The last time Madison Water Utility raised rates was more than four years ago, in May of 2011. 
 
For more information on our conservation rate plan and to learn about how new rates impact each customer class, please visit onto our New Residential Conservation Rate web page.