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Sewer Service Rates and Fees

Your Wastewater District practices fiscal responsibility, working to provide the highest quality of service at the lowest reasonable cost.

Novato Sanitary District's Sewer Service Charges are Among the Lowest in the County and North Bay

The District has been proactive in keeping costs down. We have among the lowest sewer service charges in the County and the North Bay. Below are some of the ways the District has managed its costs responsibly.

  • Maintains efficient staffing levels while achieving the District’s mission.
  • Contracted with an outside service provider (Veolia Water) to operate the treatment plant, saving about $1.4 million per year.
  • Obtained grants for recycled water production, saving about $2 million.
  • Obtained low-interest State loans for the upgraded treatment plant, with a $1 million annual saving. Subsequently, took advantage of lower interest rates to refinance this capital debt, saving an additional about $5.2 million, without extending loan terms.
  • Refinanced the CalPERS pension liability debt, saving about $2.8 million in debt service that would otherwise be paid to CalPERS, and lowered the debt term by five years.
  • Retiree health benefits-related liability will be fully funded in FY 22-23, which lowers its long-term cost.
  • Maintains a Standard and Poors Global Rating (S&P Global Rating) credit rating of “AAA”, the highest possible rating designation.

How Residential Sewer Service Charges are Calculated

Residential Sewer Service Charges Are Based on Winter Water Use. Each residential customer is assigned a user class based on water usage during the winter months. Winter water usage generally reflects the amount of water used indoors and drained into the sanitary sewer system. Charges are based on three levels of use:

LOW-WATER USERS with 25% or less than the average winter water use.

AVERAGE-WATER USERS with 26% to 199% of the average winter water use. Note that over 87% of customers are in the Average tier, including individually non-metered (multi-unit) residential customers.

HIGH-WATER USERS with 200% or more than the average winter water use.

District Updates FY 2023-24 Rates After Holding Rates Unchanged for Three Years in a Row

In FY 2022-23, the District Board of Directors voted to keep rates unchanged for the third year in a row (see Board Resolution No. 3169 for details).  For FY 2023-24 and subsequent years, the Board voted to set rates through FY 2026-27 as below per Board Resolution No. 3180 and District Ordinance No. 123.  Note that while the below rates (as set by Resolution No. 3180) do not align with the rate schedule set forth in Ordinance No. 123, these Board approved rates are less than the Proposition 218 approved rate schedule of Ordinance No. 123.

Approved charges go into effect on July 1, each year, and appear on the property tax bill the following fall.

ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CHARGES
WATER USE TIER
JULY 1,
2023		JULY 1,
2024		JULY 1,
2025		JULY 1,
2026
LOW $431$444$457$471
AVERAGE$677$698$719$740
HIGH $1,210$1,247$1,284$1,323

Non-Residential Rates Are Based on Three Factors

To accurately reflect cost of service, non-residential rates are comprised of three factors:

  1. Square Footage of the non-residential space, which reflects its capacity to generate wastewater, called the Flow Factor.
  2. Water Use in Winter as measured by the water bill, reflecting the amount of wastewater generated.
  3. Strength of the Wastewater is based on the type of business, which reflects the cost to treat the wastewater. Strength varies among non-residential uses. For example the strength for a restaurant would be much greater than that for an office because of the grease and food waste generated by a restaurant. The greater the strength of wastewater, the greater the cost to treat, and thus the greater the charge.
1. Fixed Charge Per Square Foot
1. Fixed Charge Per Square Foot

The floor area in square feet of different types of non-residential accounts is multiplied by a Flow Factor, which accounts for the estimated volume of wastewater associated with different commercial activities.

NOTE: The charge is the annual charge per square foot of floor area.

PRIOR YEAR
CHARGES		CURRENT AND FUTURE YEARS - FACTOR & CHARGES
FY 22-23FY 23-24FY 24-25FY 25-26FY 26-27
User
Type		Flow
Factor		1-Jul
2022		Flow
Factor		1-Jul
2023		1-Jul
2024		1-Jul
2025		1-Jul
2026
Base Charge/$sq ft1.0$0.271.0000$0.18$0.18$0.19$0.20
Warehouses/mini-storage0.00.000.00000000
Office
Retail
Public office buildings
School classrooms/administration
Churches
Auto service stations1.0$0.271.0000$0.18$0.18$0.19$0.20
Auditoriums theaters
Gymnasium w/showers
Hotels/motels, not incl. restaurant
Meeting halls with kitchens
Supermarkets
Mortuaries
Medical offices
Veterinary offices1.3$0.361.3017$0.23$0.24$0.25$0.26
Dental offices
Hospitals
Cafeteria/dining area
Restaurants/cafes
Bakeries2.0$0.542.0000$0.36$0.37$0.38$0.39
Delicatessens
Ice cream/yogurt shops
Laundry and laundromats3.0$0.813.0000$0.54$0.55$0.57$0.59

2. Volumetric Charge
3. The Total Annual Charge Formula

The District's annual sewer service charges are based on applicable provisions of its Sanitary Code (Ordinance No. 70), Ordinance No. 111, Ordinance No. 120, (as temporarily authorized by Resolution No. 3169), Ordinance No. 123 and Resolution No. 3180.