Can you explain the details on my bill, what are all these charges for?

With the goal of achieving greater accountability through transparency, the City of Irving has embarked on a mission to empower citizens to track their dollars at work. This breakdown of your statement provides details about how and where city funds are spent. The details of your statement are as follows: 

  • Water Service Charge: This charge is a base charge set on meter size and includes the first 3,000 gallons of water usage on the meter each month. 
  • Regulatory Fee: This fee is based on charges that are incurred from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and must be paid by all rate payers in the City of Irving on a per meter basis. 
  • Water Usage: This charge is calculated and bill based on water consumption over the base “Water Service Charge.” These are structured in an inverted rate and based on usage tiers. These tiers are as follows: 
    • 4,000 to 10,000 gallons are billed at $4.72 per thousand
    • 11,000 to 20,000 gallons are billed at $5.09 per thousand
    • Any consumption 21,000 gallons and over are billed at (October through May) $5.44 per thousand and (June through September) $5.98 per thousand. 
  • Purchase and Treatment: This fee is based on a percentage of the total budget the City of Irving allocates to water purchased and treated by the City of Dallas. 
  • Sewer: This charge is based on a winter month’s average (January, February, and March) and is calculated using the water usages for the given months. This is charged starting April of the given year and recalculates each year based on the usages for the above mentioned months. 
  • Sewer Treatment: This fee is based on a percentage of the total budget the City of Irving allocates for wastewater treatment from Trinity River Authority (TRA). 
  • Sanitation: This charge is for garbage pick-up services and is based on overall budget needs by the Sanitation Department. This is also the only Taxable item on the Municipal Services Bill. 
  • Sales Tax: This charge is based on sales tax for the sanitation charge (see above) and is calculated based on City of Irving sales tax requirements. 
  • EMS Fee (October 2009): This fee supplements all emergency medical service operations and equipment costs and is based on budgetary needs for Ambulatory services. These fees are charged to all account holders in the city. 
  • Drainage: This fee is assessed on all property in the City of Irving and funds storm water drainage issues (Creek blockages, drainage culvert issues, etc.) in the city. The fee is calculated based on non- impervious surface area on the property.
  • Utility Franchise Fee: This fee is 2 percent of the water, sewer and sanitation charge on your monthly bill and funds public safety activities within the City of Irving. 
  • Surcharge: This charge is assessed to an account that discharges a higher than normal (over strength) sewer discharge into the City of Irving sewerage system. This is calculated based on a formula as outlined in the Book of Ordinances Chapter 52 subsection 4 and fees are mandated by TRA. 

Charges listed above are referring to the current ordinance as of Oct. 1, 2019 and are subject to change at anytime with council approval.

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1. I never received my water bill. Can you send me another bill?
2. Can you explain the details on my bill, what are all these charges for?
3. I know I used less water this month but the usage is still high. Why?
4. Why is my water bill so high?
5. Why is my bill higher than my neighbor's?
6. How is the (residential) sewer bill calculated?
7. I've just received notification that my landlord has not been paying the utility bills. What can I do?
8. Why do I have to come to City Hall in order to have my water service started?
9. Why does my payment take two bank business days to credit to my account?