Beginning January 1, 2011, all City of Turlock utility customers will be billed for water based on actual water consumption, as indicated by their water meter.
In 2004, the State Legislature passed a law, Assembly Bill 2572, requiring utilities to charge water customers based on the actual volume of water used. The deadline to comply with this law is 2010 for all homes built since January 1, 1992 and 2025 for all homes built before 1992.
Starting in 2007, water meters were being installed in Turlock. The City of Turlock decided to implement water meter rates citywide in 2011 to encourage efficient water use among customers, ensure that customers enjoy a high quality and reliable water source for years to come, and provide more equitable charges for water service. Meters will allow customers to pay for what they actually use. Customers then can directly benefit from efficient water use measures they choose to implement.
According to the Turlock Municipal Code, water customers will pay a metered rate of $1.07 per 1,000 gallons of water with a minimum base charge of $22.05 a month for no more than 20,607 gallons of water. Once a customer goes over the minimum, the water bill will be calculated at the $1.07 per 1,000 gallons of water rate up to 50,000 gallons of water. Water bills will also include a $2 water meter replacement fee, making an average customer’s residential water bill about $24.05 per month.
Water rates per 1,000 gallons of water decrease to 91 cents from 50,001 to 150,000 gallons of water used and 39 cents for over 150,000 gallons of water used.
The City of Turlock website has an online bill calculator included in their announcement of meter-based water billing linked on their home page.
The City’s website also offers free online accounts that allow registered users to see estimated water bills based on meter rate billing and compared to the flat rate billing that will no longer be used starting on January 1, 2011.
