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 derives the annual sewer service fees from Sewer Ordinance #111 and Sewer Ordinance #123, and applicable provisions of its Sanitary Code (Ordinance No. 70).
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 lowering the debt term by five years.
- Retiree health benefits, will be fully paid off in FY 22-23, which lowers their long-term cost.
- Maintains a Standard and Poors Global Rating (S&P Global Rating) credit rating of “AAA”, the rating agency’s highest possible rating designation.
FAIRNESS PRINCIPLE
Residential customers pay only for the actual cost of service based on their winter water use.
Non-residential rates are based on the impact of their sewer strength and volume on the wastewater system.
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; and
HIGH-WATER USERS with 200% or more than the average winter water use;
Note that over 87% of customers are in the Average tier, including individually non-metered (multi-unit) residential customers.
Current Sewer Service Charges
The following sewer service charges are the maximum approved charges for the following five years. Approved charges go into effect on July 1, 2022 and appear on the property tax bill in the following fall.
July 1, 2021 | July 1, 2022 | July 1, 2023 | July 1, 2024 | July 1, 2025 | July 1, 2026 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LOW Water Use | $395 | $431 | $444 | $457 | $471 | $485 |
AVERAGE Water Use | $657 | $677 | $698 | $719 | $740 | $762 |
HIGH Water Use | $1,181 | $1,210 | $1,247 | $1,284 | $1,323 | $1,362 |
Non-Residential Rates Are Based on Three Factors
To accurately reflect cost of service, non-residential rates are comprised of three factors:
- Square Footage of the non-residential space, which reflects its capacity to generate wastewater, called the Flow Factor.
- Water Use in Winter as measured by the water bill, reflecting the amount of wastewater generated.
- Strength of the Wastewater 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. There are different strength factors for a variety of business types.
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.
User Type | Flow Factor | Current | July 1 2022 | July 1 2023 | July 1 2024 | July 1 2025 | July 1 2026 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Base Charge/square foot | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Warehouses/mini-storage | 0.0000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Office | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Retail | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Public office buildings | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
School classrooms/administration | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Churches | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Auto service stations | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Auditoriums theaters | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Gymnasium w/showers | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Hotels/motels, not incl. restaurant | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Meeting halls with kitchens | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Supermarkets | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Mortuaries | 1.0000 | $0.270 | $0.179 | $0.184 | $0.190 | $0.196 | $0.202 |
Medical offices | 1.3017 | $0.351 | $0.233 | $0.239 | $0.247 | $0.255 | $0.263 |
Veterinary offices | 1.3017 | $0.351 | $0.233 | $0.239 | $0.247 | $0.255 | $0.263 |
Dental offices | 1.3017 | $0.351 | $0.233 | $0.239 | $0.247 | $0.255 | $0.263 |
Hospitals | 1.3017 | $0.351 | $0.233 | $0.239 | $0.247 | $0.255 | $0.263 |
Cafeteria/dining area | 2.0000 | $0.540 | $0.358 | $0.368 | $0.380 | $0.392 | $0.404 |
Restaurants/cafes | 2.0000 | $0.540 | $0.358 | $0.368 | $0.380 | $0.392 | $0.404 |
Bakeries | 2.0000 | $0.540 | $0.358 | $0.368 | $0.380 | $0.392 | $0.404 |
Delicatessens | 2.0000 | $0.540 | $0.358 | $0.368 | $0.380 | $0.392 | $0.404 |
Ice cream/yogurt shops | 2.0000 | $0.540 | $0.358 | $0.368 | $0.380 | $0.392 | $0.404 |
Laundry and laundromats | 3.0000 | $0.810 | $0.537 | $0.552 | $0.570 | $0.588 | $0.606 |