Municipal Department
City of Santa Barbara Water Resources - Utility Billing
Serving City of Santa Barbara
Population served
99,323 people (EPA SDWA active CWS queue estimate)
State system code
FIPS 06
Billing frequency
Monthly water and sewer billing; the adopted rate tables identify monthly allotments and monthly service charges.
Provider briefing
How this utility’s billing works
City of Santa Barbara Water Resources - Utility Billing operates as a municipal department serving City of Santa Barbara. Customers should use the provider’s current account-specific bill and official customer-service instructions as the final authority for deadlines, balances, and service requests.
The published water-rate framework is described as Increasing block tiers based on monthly water use measured in hundred cubic feet, where 1 HCF equals 748 gallons. For FY2026, single-family residential water is $6.06 per first 4 HCF, $16.92 per next 12 HCF and $38.56 per additional HCF, plus a meter-size monthly service charge; the City also applies a 6% utility users tax to metered water and monthly water charges.. Bills are generated monthly water and sewer billing; the adopted rate tables identify monthly allotments and monthly service charges., and a typical residential cost reference is Using the FY2026 adopted single-family schedule and a 5/8-inch meter, 7,000 gallons is about 9.36 HCF: $44.01 monthly service charge plus roughly $24.24 for the first 4 HCF and $90.65 for the next 5.36 HCF, or about $158.90 for water before the 6% utility users tax. Sewer at the residential $35.85 monthly charge plus $5.43 per HCF up to 8 HCF adds about $86.69, producing an estimated combined water/sewer total near $255.13 before other taxes or account-specific adjustments. This is a schedule-based estimate, not a City-issued average bill.. These descriptions are useful planning benchmarks; actual charges can change with meter size, usage, sewer averaging, local taxes, drought stages, or account-specific fees.
Wastewater and sewer calculation
Single-family sewer is billed monthly at $35.85 plus $5.43 per HCF, capped at 8 HCF per month in the published residential table. Water allotments are based on average monthly consumption during the most recent January-June period, adjusted for the maximum billing-cycle days; the reviewed City schedule does not describe a winter sewer averaging formula for standard residential accounts.
Meter and infrastructure notes
The City identifies an Automated Metering Infrastructure contact and the WaterSmart portal supplies consumption-management and leak-alert tools, indicating AMI-supported customer data. The reviewed public pages do not state a universal transmission interval or fixed route-reading date for every account.
Emergency water support
Report a leak or water emergency
805-564-5413 for water or sewer emergencies, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Official starting point
Choose the right next step
Reading this profile
A practical reference for City of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Barbara Water Resources - Utility Billing is listed here as a municipal department. The profile separates account actions—such as paying a bill or requesting service—from explanatory material about rates, meters, wastewater, leaks, and delinquency.
Because utility rules can vary by account class, meter size, service address, billing date, and local ordinance, treat the published bill and current provider website as the final authority. Use this profile to locate the correct channel and prepare better questions for customer service.
If your issue is urgent, start with the provider’s emergency number or official payment route rather than waiting for an email response. Keep a written record of calls, confirmation numbers, notice dates, and documents you submit.