City of Billings Public Works Water Utility

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

City of Billings Public Works Water Utility operates as a municipal department serving Billings and approved areas outside the city limits. 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 conservation rate with a fixed monthly meter-size charge and volumetric charges per 1,000 gallons. Effective July 1, 2026 inside-city residential tiers are $4.97 per kGal for 0–10,000 gallons, $5.94 for 11,000–32,000, $7.72 for 33,000–75,000, and $11.60 above 75,000; outside-city residential tiers are $5.13, $6.16, $8.03, and $12.03. The FY2026 3/4-inch base charge is $8.75 inside city and $9.75 outside city.. Bills are generated monthly. billings restored a regular monthly cycle after the 2024 billing-system conversion; the city states that customers receive a bill on the same date each month, subject to weekends and holidays, generally covering a 30-day service period., and a typical residential cost reference is At 5,000 gallons for an inside-city 3/4-inch residential meter, the water component is approximately $8.75 base plus $24.85 volumetric, or $33.60 before wastewater, stormwater, garbage, taxes, and other charges. The City’s FY2026 operating budget separately reports an average monthly residential water charge of $47.71 and wastewater charge of $30.85 for its representative median-home utility 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

Wastewater uses a fixed monthly meter-size service charge plus a volume charge based on wastewater created, with the metric reflecting the water utility’s four-tier structure. Effective July 1, 2026, the published residential wastewater volume charge is $5.95 per 1,000 gallons for customers inside and outside the city; the applicable wastewater base charge is determined by meter and customer class.

Meter and infrastructure notes

Billings uses a Neptune Advanced Metering System. The City’s billing-system audit documentation identifies more than 32,000 water meters and provides the audit team access to the Neptune system; the City also states that the meter hardware did not change during the software conversion. Meters are read on a rotating monthly schedule, with the time of day varying between cycles to prevent overlap, and the online system provides consumption summaries and alerts.