Wastewater Rates

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Notice of Sewer Rate Increase

Rates are increasing July 1, 2020, as adopted by the Board of Directors on June 20, 2017. Twenty-six percent of the annual sewer bill covers wastewater collection, and seventy-four percent covers the cost of treatment and disposal. Sewer rates help support infrastructure upgrades of the sewer system and the Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Where can I find how much I pay for sewer service?

DSRSD bills single-family dwellings for wastewater service on the owner’s annual property tax bill. The new rate will be reflected in county property tax bills beginning fall 2020. The service charge will be listed as DSRSD SEWER SVC on the property tax bill as follows:

Alameda County residents, look under Fixed Charges and/or Special Assessments.
Contra Costa County residents, look under SPECIAL TAXES & ASSESSMENTS.

Newly constructed single-family dwellings may be billed bimonthly until the next property tax bill. We bill all other customers bimonthly.

Residential Customers

Single-Family Dwellings

	Effective July 1, 2019	Effective July 1, 2020

Class	Annual Rate	Equiv. Bimonthly Rate	Annual Rate	Equiv. Bimonthly Rate
Single-family home or townhouse	$446.88	$74.48	$468.60	$78.10
Condominium	306.90	51.15	315.9‬0	53.73 ‬
Duplex	893.88	148.98	937.20	156.2‬0

Multi-Unit Dwellings

	Effective July 1, 2019	Effective July 1, 2020

Class	Bimonthly Rate	Bimonthly Rate
Apartments and Accessory Dwelling Units	$43.25 per dwelling unit	$45.46‬ per dwelling unit

Commercial Customers

Rates for commercial customers are based on the volume of wastewater and a wastewater strength factor—low, medium, or high. Wastewater strength is measured by the degree of organic pollution in the wastewater; the higher the strength, the more treatment costs the District.

DSRSD has determined strength factors for each commercial customer category based on historic data and verifies these factors through periodic, random sampling. Please contact Customer Service at (925) 828-8524 if you have questions about the strength factor that applies to your business.

Wastewater Strength*	Billing Unit**	Effective July 1, 2019	Effective July 1, 2020
Low: less than or equal to 300 mg/L	ccf	$3.53	$3.71
Medium: greater than 300 mg/L and less than or equal to 600 mg/L	ccf	6.08	6.34‬
High: greater than 600 mg/L	ccf	8.10	8.41‬

*Strength is an average of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L)
**One cubic hundred foot (ccf) equals 748 gallons

Schools

The rate for submetered schools (those with separate water meters for irrigation and indoor "domestic" use) is applied to domestic water meter volume. The rate for non-submetered schools is applied to their historical volume (based on estimated domestic water use).

Class	Billing Unit*	Effective July 1, 2019	Effective July 1, 2020
Schools (submetered)	ccf	$3.53	$3.70
Schools (not submetered)	ccf	2.93	3.09

*One cubic hundred foot (ccf) equals 748 gallons

Industrial Customers

Industrial wastewater rates are shown in two components: "collection" through the DSRSD sanitary sewer system and "treatment" (including disposal). Industrial customers located in Pleasanton receive treatment services only. Septic haulers pay a flat per-gallon rate.

The collection rate is based on volume. The treatment rate is based on volume and wastewater strength—low, medium, or high. Wastewater strength is measured by the degree of organic pollution in the wastewater: the higher the strength, the more treatment costs the District.

Industrial customers are assigned to a strength category based on historic strength and volume data. DSRSD will verify rates for each customer category through annual, periodic, random sampling, and rates will be altered accordingly.

Service	billing unit**	Effective July 1, 2019	Effective July 1, 2020
Wastewater Collection	ccf	$0.99	$1.09
Wastewater Treatment (by strength*)
Low: less than or equal to 1,000 mg/L	ccf	8.73	8.98
Medium: greater than 1,000 mg/L or less than or equal to 1,500 mg/L	ccf	10.96	11.28
High: greater than 1,500 mg/L	ccf	13.22	13.60
Septic Haulers	gallon	0.064	0.066

*Strength is an average of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L)
**One cubic hundred foot (ccf) equals 748 gallons

In addition to the service charges listed above, customers participating in the District’s Industrial Pretreatment Program pay fees that reflect the DSRSD staff effort involved in permitting, monitoring, and lab analyses. All industrial customers complete an Industrial Waste Discharge Permit Application to determine whether they are required to participate in the program. Contact the Senior Environmental Compliance Inspector at 925-875-2335 regarding industrial wastewater rates, the Pretreatment Program, or the permit.

Rate Changes

The District bases its wastewater rates on the cost of providing service to each class of customer and rates usually increase each year on July 1. The DSRSD Board of Directors may change rates at other times as a result of rate studies or other factors. Customers are notified when rate changes are proposed as required by Proposition 218. Customers are encouraged to attend public hearings regarding rate changes and submit written comments. For more information on your rights to protest rate changes, see:

Revised March 27, 2020

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