Peak Use Charges

The Peak Use Charge is used to recover the costs of constructing the facilities required to meet peak capacity demands. Only those customers whose quarterly water usage patterns place peak capacity demands on the water system are subject to the Peak Use Charge.

Peak Use Charges apply to summer water use exceeding the greater of 1.3 times Winter Quarter Consumption or 6,000 gallons above Winter Quarter Consumption. Only two of the four quarterly bills Authority customers receive each year are subject to Peak Use—those based on meter readings taken in the months of June through November. Peak Use is billed at a rate of $3.45 per 1,000 gallons. This is in addition to the Water Usage Charge ($2.29 per 1,000 gallons) which applies to all consumption.

Winter Quarter Consumption, which appears on all bills and is updated each June 1st, serves as the basis for calculating the Peak Use Charge. Winter Quarter Consumption is based on consumption during the quarterly billing period ending in February, March or April of each year.