What does a CGW water and sewer bill cost?

Which CGW rates are in force now?

The rates in force are the last step of a four-year schedule, effective July 1, 2024. CGW's Water & Sewer Rates page still links only that schedule on 6 Nov 2026, and no later step has been published. CGW's 2025 annual financial report describes automatic increases each July 1 "through 2024", which fits.

Inside the city, water costs a $9.00 monthly customer charge for a ¾-inch meter plus $4.45 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer costs $8.14 per 1,000 gallons and a flat $5.00 environmental compliance fee. Outside the city, water is $7.80 and sewer $14.24 per 1,000 gallons.

How is a 5,000-gallon bill built?

CGW publishes its own worked table, and the 5,000-gallon row splits into four lines. Sewer usage is the largest of them, more than the water usage and the meter charge combined.

The arithmetic is plain: 5 × $4.45 = $22.25 for water, 5 × $8.14 = $40.70 for sewer. Taxes and any late fee are not in the table. Because sewer is charged per gallon of water, every 1,000 gallons you use costs $12.59 inside the city once both lines are counted.

How much more do you pay outside the city?

At the same 5,000 gallons, an outside-city customer pays $124.20, about $47 more. CGW's table shows the gap widening as use grows, because both per-gallon rates are higher outside.

These rates apply only where CGW sends the water bill. If another water utility's name is on yours, its own schedule sets the price.

Does meter size change the monthly charge?

Yes. The customer charge rises with the meter, from $9.00 for a ¾-inch meter to $47.00 for a 2-inch one, before a gallon is used. Most houses have the smallest size; the size is printed on the bill or the meter.

How fast did the water rate climb?

The inside-city usage rate went up each July from 2021 to 2024, from $3.32 to $4.45 per 1,000 gallons, a rise of about a third. The ¾-inch customer charge moved from $7.00 to $9.00 over the same steps.

What is the smallest bill you can get?

Sewer has a floor: CGW bills at least 2,000 gallons a month, so the sewer part never drops below 2 × $8.14 + $5.00 = $21.28 inside the city (our arithmetic). Water has no gallon minimum in the schedule, only the $9.00 meter charge. A house that is empty all month still pays roughly $30, which matters for anyone leaving the house empty.

What other fees can show up?

The Fees, Penalties & Deposits page lists a late penalty of 10% of the bill, $100 to start a service ($200 after hours) and a $150 water and sewer deposit for a ¾-inch or ⅝-inch meter. The page shows no effective date on the fee table itself and says the schedule may change. Past the meter, the pipe is yours: CGW's water pressure FAQ puts everything on the house side of the yoke in the owner's hands, so a leak on that run is the owner's to repair.

For what a hot, dry month does to these lines, see the summer bill page. For catching a quiet leak, see leaks on the meter. Gas and power are on gas and electric rates, and the whole shelf starts at your bill.