City of Lawrence residential water customers will see a change in how they are charged for their water usage, beginning with their April bill, which reflects March water consumption. This change was approved by the City Commission at its December 15, 2020 meeting. Customer bills will now look slightly different with the change. To help customers understand the new bill layout and see how the new rate calculation will affect their bill, the City has launched an online utility billing estimator.
The new usage calculation will utilize an Individual Inclining Block Rate methodology. This methodology is a three-block system that utilizes each customer’s Winter Quarter Average for water consumption rates and encourages water conservation and provides better equity among customers.
As such, the new methodology will bring upon new rates. The base rate (Block 1) for water will decrease from the current rate of $7.35/1,000 gallons (inside city limits) to $7.10/1,000 gallons.
HOW IT WORKS
The residential blocks are calculated using each customer’s Winter Quarter Average (WQA), which is an average usage calculated from the customer’s actual water usage in December, January and February (the winter months). The WQA will be used to calculate the monthly water charges for all subsequent months, until a new average usage is calculated the following year.
Starting April 1, 2021, the monthly water charges will be based off each customer’s WQA from the months of December 2020 and January and February 2021. For customers who have very low water consumption totals in winter months, a minimum WQA of 3,000 gallons will be used for water charge calculations. This minimum raises the block rate thresholds, so low winter consumers are not negatively impacted in warmer months.
Billing blocks are determined each month and are contingent on each residential customer’s water usage for that month. Residential customers will be billed at the Block 1 rate for all consumption up to and including 125% of the WQA in any given month. Any usage in a single month that is greater than 125% through 200% of the WQA will be billed at the Block 2 rate. Any usage in a single month above 200% of the WQA will be charged at the Block 3 rate.
Customers who would like to better understand how these changes will directly change their bill are encouraged to try the new online utility billing estimator. To best see the difference between a cold-weather month and warm-weather month, the City recommends using consumption totals from previous billing cycles to input into the calculator.
RATES
| Current Rate | Inside City | Outside City |
| Effective until 3/31/21 | $ 7.35/1,000 gal | $ 8.09/1,000 gal |
| Future Block Rates | Inside City | Outside City |
| Residential – Block 1 (Up to 125% of WQA) | $ 7.10/1,000 gal | $ 7.81/1,000 gal |
| Residential – Block 2 (>125-200% of WQA) | $ 7.81/1,000 gal | $ 8.60/1,000 gal |
| Residential – Block 3 (More than 200% of WQA) | $ 8.17/1,000 gal | $ 8.99/1,000 gal |
WHAT IT MEANS
Residential customers who use water for everyday tasks (i.e. bathing, cooking, laundry, etc.) with little to no additional warm-weather uses, will likely remain in the first block rate throughout the year. Those customers with additional usage in the warmer months (i.e., irrigation) will be charged accordingly for the higher amount of water they are using.
EXAMPLE
A customer who lives inside the city limits used 2,000 gallons of water in December 2020, 4,000 gallons in January 2021 and 3,000 gallons in February 2021. Their Winter Quarter Average (WQA) for their usage in March 2021-February 2022 would be 3,000 gallons (the average of the three winter months’ usage).
A 3,000 gallon WQA would set the following thresholds for that customer at:
- Block 1 – Up to 3,750 total gallons used in a month
- Block 2 – 3,751-6,000 total gallons used in a month
- Block 3 – 6,001+ gallons total gallons used in a month
In March 2021, the customer used 3,100 gallons of water. So, on the bill they receive in April, they would be charged at the Block 1 rate ($7.10/1,000 gallons) for all 3,100 gallons of water, because 3,100 is 125% or less of the customer’s WQA. The “Water Charges” on their bill would total $22.01.
In April 2021, the customer used 5,700 gallons of water. So, on the bill they receive in May, they would be charged at the Block 1 rate ($7.10/1,000 gallons) for the first 3,750 gallons (125% of the WQA) of water they used, and the Block 2 rate ($7.81/1,000 gallons) for the remaining 1,950 gallons, because their total usage of 5,700 gallons is in the >125-200% range of the WQA. The “Water Charges” on their bill would total $41.86 ($26.63 for “Water Charges Block 1” and $15.23 for “Water Charges Block 2”).
In May 2021, the customer’s usage went back down and they only used 2,500 gallons of water. So, on the bill they receive in June, they would be charged at the Block 1 rate ($7.10/1,000 gallons) for all 2,500 gallons of water they used, because 2,500 is 125% or less of the customer’s WQA. The “Water Charges” on their bill would total $17.75.
In June 2021, the customer’s water usage increased significantly and they used a total of 7,500 gallons of water. So, on the bill they receive in July, they would be charged at the Block 1 rate ($7.10/1,000 gallons) for the first 3,750 gallons (125% of the WQA) of water they used, the Block 2 rate ($7.81/1,000 gallons) for the next 2,250 gallons (up to 200% of the WQA) and the Block 3 rate ($8.17/1,000 gallons) for the remaining 1,500 gallons (above 200% of the WQA) of water they used. The “Water Charges” on their bill would total $56.46 ($26.63 for “Water Charges Block 1,” $17.57 (unsure of rounding here) for “Water Charges Block 2,” and $12.26 for “Water Charges Block 3”).
In July 2021, their usage went back down to stay within the Block 1 threshold (125% or less of WQA) and their water charges would all be billed at the Block 1 rate.
*This example is for illustrative purposes only.
Contact: Porter Arneill, Director of Communications and Creative Resources, parneill@lawrenceks.org | (785) 832-3402