Billing & Fee Structure

BILLING

Updated January 17, 2025

Water Bills: Water meters are read manually, bi-monthly by AWUA staff. The number of the days for each billing period varies (typically around 50-65 days). Expect to see billing within the first or second week of the billing months: January, March, May, July, September and November. However, billing/due dates and late fee dates will not occur on a consistent day of the billing month due to weather and holidays. Pay invoices before the On/After Date to avoid the late fee.

Estimates: In winter months when meters cannot be read due to snowy conditions, an estimate of water usage is billed. An estimate can be identified on the water bill by the “E” at the end of the water usage under Meter Readings. Corrections to the under/over-estimates of usage will be reflected in the next bill with a manual meter reading, if it exceeds the estimated usage. Regardless of time of year and if usage is being estimated, all charges due to water leaks on a shareholder’s service line are the shareholder’s responsibility. If a home will be unoccupied for any period of time, it is the shareholder’s responsibility to properly winterize it. 

Water Shares/Stock: Property owners in our district are shareholders of the water company. Owning water stock is common for mutual water companies, like AWUA. At least one share is required to receive water service from AWUA. For homeowners, each additional share will provide a Tier 1 Rate for 1500 CU FT more water per billing cycle. Each share also provides five votes in the elections of the AWUA board of directors. Each year, the cost of a share increases by the assessment rate.

Bi-monthly Assessment Fee: Owning a share and paying the assessment fee is required to receive water service and is the responsibility of the shareholder. The assessment helps pay for capital improvements within the AWUA district.

In March 2023, the assessment was added to the water bill: Annual Assessment fee X number of shares owned / six billings in a year. After 180 days of non-payment, an unpaid assessment bill will result in, but not limited to, water being shut off at the property, a lien being placed on the property, and the share(s) being forfeited. If forfeited, a new share must be purchased in order to receive water service. Contact the office to pay the annual assessment fee in one payment.

*Standard size for most residential properties

1The service charge is based on the meter size. It covers general maintenance, operational costs and public utilities for well sites and reservoirs.

2The system improvement fee is collected to repair and maintain water mains and reservoirs.

3These two charges are billed every billing period regardless of the amount of water usage and cover the following two months of service.

In August of 2024, the BOD increased the Service Charge by $3.30 due to increased operating costs.

OTHER CHARGES

Effective November 12, 2024