Water Budgets

Increase efficiency, lower your cost

Customers who only use water in Tiers 1 and 2 are billed at the lowest rates. When customers stay within their water budget, Western Water can meet their indoor water demand (Tier 1) with our limited local supply, which costs much less to deliver than imported water supplies from Northern California.

Customers who exceed their water budget are billed in the higher tiers, Tiers 3 and 4. Inefficient and sometimes wasteful water use causes customers to exceed their water budget. When this happens, Western Water must purchase and transport expensive water supplies from Northern California to meet the excess demand. In other words, if you exceed your water budget, expect to pay the added cost of this more expensive water supply.

Guaranteeing equity

Western Water's budget structure guarantees that customers who use water efficiently are not expected to cover the costs of delivering the more costly imported water for the less efficient users. 

Western Water uses a portion of the rate funds collected in the higher rate tiers to provide water use efficiency support programs that help customers manage their water use and stay within their water budget. We want to see all customers using water as efficiently as possible while receiving the lowest-priced water.

Learn more about our water use efficiency support programs that can help you stay within your budget.

Adjusting with the weather to meet your needs

Understanding how your Tier 2 outdoor water budget changes with the weather will help you take action to keep water use within your budget.

As the days become shorter and the nights become cooler, plants and grass go dormant – needing less water to stay alive throughout the fall and winter months. As a result, your outdoor water budget decreases. Here’s how you can take action to change with the weather: