San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) – Water Enterprise / Customer Services Bureau

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) – Water Enterprise / Customer Services Bureau operates as a public water authority serving San Francisco retail water and wastewater customers plus wholesale water service to Bay Area counties supplied by the San Francisco Regional Water System. 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 Two-tier metered water and wastewater rates plus fixed monthly water, wastewater, and stormwater charges. For the SFPUC FY2027 schedule effective July 1, 2026, the proposed/approved public rate table lists a 3/4-inch water service charge of $24.93 per month, residential water at $12.20 per CCF for the first 4 CCF and $13.55 per CCF above 4, wastewater at $20.74 per discharged CCF, a $6.62 monthly wastewater service charge, and a residential stormwater component of $19.66 per month for a typical 1,701–3,300-square-foot parcel. SFPUC describes fixed charges as shared system costs and volumetric charges as usage-based; the 2026–2027 schedule became effective July 1, 2026 after the rate-setting process.. Bills are generated monthly for the typical retail water and sewer account. sfpuc payment-plan and bill materials refer to regular monthly bills, monthly fixed charges, and monthly wastewater installments; the exact due date is printed on the customer statement., and a typical residential cost reference is Approximately $230–$280 per month for a typical San Francisco single-family account using 5,000–7,000 gallons (about 6.7–9.4 CCF) under the FY2027 schedule effective July 1, 2026. A representative calculation combines the 3/4-inch water and wastewater service charges, two-tier water use, wastewater priced on 90% of residential water use, and a typical residential stormwater parcel charge. Actual totals vary with meter size, parcel area, usage, wastewater flow factor, stormwater tier, and CAP enrollment; SFPUC’s bill calculator is the authoritative account-specific estimate.. 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

SFPUC wastewater is calculated from estimated discharge rather than simply copying all water intake. Single-family residential customers use a default 90% flow factor, so wastewater units are generally 90% of metered water units; multi-family residential uses a 95% default. SFPUC applies a two-tier wastewater rate structure described in the current schedule, plus a monthly wastewater service charge. Customers may appeal for a reduced flow factor when documented irrigation or other conditions mean more water is not entering the sewer; non-residential customers can have pollutant-strength charges based on business type and discharge characteristics. Stormwater is a separate parcel-area component of the sewer bill.

Meter and infrastructure notes

SFPUC uses the Aclara Fixed Network AMI STAR system to read water meters for more than 96% of San Francisco water accounts. The network supports electronic usage data, leak alerts, and MyAccount review; the agency is evaluating and upgrading meter transponders after delayed billing caused by transmission failures. Where data is unavailable or unusual, SFPUC may estimate bills and later reconcile them against actual reads. Retail accounts are generally billed monthly, with water and wastewater usage and fixed charges appearing on the account statement.