Below the surface of your IRWD water bill On the surface, your bill is pretty simple: Use more water and the bill goes up; use less and it goes down. But a lot goes into your water bill. Here’s a deeper look. Basic components of your water bill • Water usage charges are variable costs for the amount of water you use. Rate tier Water budget Current rate per CCF $2.07 Tier 1: Low Volume
Up to 40% of your budget 41% – 100% of your budget 101% – 140% of your budget 141% and over of your budget
Water use within monthly budget Water use over monthly budget
Tier 2: Base Rate
$2.72
• Service charges are fixed costs to recover the expenses of maintaining IRWD’s water distribution infrastructure. Variable charges To encourage wise water use, each residence is assigned a monthly water usage budget, which is based on factors such as the number of occupants and size of irrigated area. Check your bill for a breakdown of what your budget is based on. How much you pay for each CCF of water (1 CCF or 100 cubic feet = 748 gallons) depends on whether you stay within your budget. Rates are broken into four tiers, each assigned a rate based on the actual cost of service that varies according to the water source. Low Volume and Base Rate tiers are for water used within a customer’s budget, which is sourced primarily from lower-cost groundwater and reduces the need to import expensive water from out of state or Northern California. The majority of imported water costs are allocated to Inefficient and Wasteful tiers. How your water budget is calculated Your monthly household water usage budget is the sum of your indoor and outdoor budgets. Together they represent an efficient volume of water to meet your individualized water needs.
Tier 3: Inefficient
$7.51
Tier 4: Wasteful
$18.60
Fixed charges Your bill also contains fixed charges for water service and sewer service. Water service charges are based on the size of the meter required to provide flow for the property. These charges — to recover IRWD’s fixed infrastructure costs — are assessed whether or not you use water that month. Learn more Visit IRWD.com/understandmybill for details on current water rates . Visit IRWD.com/services/proposed-rates for rates beginning July 1, 2026. Contact 949-453-5300 or CustomerService@IRWD.com for questions.
÷ 748 Conversion (748 gallons = 1 CCF)
x
x
+ Indoor budget =
People per household
50 gallons per person
Days in the billing cycle
• Your indoor budget is
evapotranspiration (daily plant water loss in cubic inches) x 0.75 ET factor (to account for the fact that at least 40% of your landscape should be drought-tolerant) x 36.3 conversion factor (to convert acre-inches into CCF).
simple: 50 gallons per person per day (divided by 748 to convert gallons to CCF)
.75 36.3 ET factor Conversion factor x
=
x
x
Evapo- transpiration (local daily weather data)
Irrigated landscape area (acres)
• Your outdoor budget is calculated using data from local weather stations: your irrigated landscape area x
Outdoor budget
Q: My fruit trees are getting a bit large for my yard. Is April too late to prune them? A: You haven’t missed your chance. January’s deep dormancy is the practical pruning window, but early April is still excellent for light maintenance. While you should keep it light for deciduous trees like peaches or apples, this is the ideal time for citrus and avocado trees. Pruning them now avoids winter frost damage and beats the scorching summer heat that can blister exposed bark. Just remember to use sharp, clean shears to prevent disease.
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Got landscape questions? Email askjuan@IRWD.com or ask on social media with #IRWDcommunity.
24-Hour customer service: 949-453-5300 Email: CustomerService@IRWD.com Address: 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA 92618 Website: IRWD.com
Board of Directors: Dan Ferons (Div. 4), Steve LaMar (Div. 2), Doug Reinhart (Div. 3),
Peer Swan (Div. 5), John Withers (Div. 1) General manager: Paul A. Cook, PE
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