What We Do
We supply the water that you use in Wauwatosa. We do this through the operation and maintenance of:
- Four pumping stations
- Seven water storage reservoirs
- 207 miles of water main
Pay a Water Bill
You can pay your water bill:
- Return enclosed envelope with a check
- Pay online through your bank
- Use Wauwatosa Water Utility online portal. On this website you can check your current balance at any time. You will need your account and customer number.
- At the Treasurer’s Counter at City Hall (7725 W North Avenue) between 8 am – 4:30 pm
- At the secure payment depository at City Hall across from the blue mailbox, by the employee entrance
- Over the phone (414) 323-2339
Bills are sent out quarterly on or before the 1st of the month. Payments must be received by the Treasurer’s Office on or before the 20th of the month, or a 1% penalty will be applied to the balance each month it is late. Please allow enough bill processing time, otherwise penalties will be applied, and they will not be waived for late payment. Escrow’s do not pay water bills.
Items for Sale
The City of Wauwatosa occasionally offers used or excess parts and equipment for sale. See the current listing of available items.
Source of Water
Our water comes through a purchase agreement with the Milwaukee Water Works, who performs all the necessary water filtration, treatment, and pumping to our city limits.
Regulations & Uses
Our water complies with all federal and state drinking water quality regulations. We are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Our water rate structure is established under the guidance of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
In addition to providing water for continuous daily demand by our residential, commercial, and industrial customers, we provide fire protection for the community by maintaining fire hydrants throughout the water distribution system.
Funding & Operation
The Wauwatosa Water Utility is a self-supporting enterprise fund with revenue coming from the sale of water and related services to our customers.
Billing & Rate Information
We issue bills quarterly in the mail around the first of the month for:
- Water
- Sewer
- Storm water
Bills are due on the 20th of each month. Bills are issued to the owner or resident. If you want, the bill can be mailed to an address other than the service address.
If you have a forwarding address, contact us to add a name to the bill. The post office will not forward mail if it says “Owner or Resident.”
Please call us at (414) 479-8963 to set this up.
Payment
Water bill payments are due by the bill due date. You can pay by:
- Returning the enclosed envelope with your check, including your account and customer numbers
- Using bill pay through your bank
- Pay online
- Direct debit, recurring credit card, or one-time payment options available
- There are no longer separate convenience fees
- Instructions for maintaining auto pay
- At the Treasurer’s Counter at City Hall (7725 W North Avenue) between 8 am – 4:30 pm
- At the secure payment depository at City Hall across from the blue mail box, by the employee entrance
- Pay over the phone (414) 323-2339
If payment is taken directly out of your account by your bank, please allow enough time for processing by your bank to avoid any late payment charges.
Late Fees
- A 1% late payment charge is applied to an outstanding balance on the 21st of each month.
- As of September 21, unpaid balances are considered delinquent.
- If delinquent balances are not paid by November 1, a 10% penalty is applied to the account.
- If total delinquent balances are not paid on or before November 15, they are transferred to the property tax bill.
Water Bill Summary
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission must approve rate increases requests we make.
What are the charges on my water bill?
- Water Service is a fixed charge based on the size of the meter at the property.
- Water Usage is based on the quantity of water you use and the number is determined from quarterly meter readings.
- Public Fire Protection is a fixed charge based on meter size for the use of hydrants for fire protection service. The charge recovers the cost of water for fighting fires and the extra capacity built into the system necessary to rapidly deliver a large volume of water to a fire anywhere within the municipality’s water service area. These costs include a portion of the:
- Pumps
- Storage facilities
- Water mains
- Hydrants
- An estimated quantity of water used for this purpose
- Private Fire Protection is a fixed charge for an unmetered connection to the water main that supplies water to private fire protection systems, such as sprinkler systems or private fire hydrants.
Sewer Bill Summary
We set all local sewer rates.
What are the charges on my sewer bill?
- Local Sewer Usage is a charge we set based on water usage for maintenance of our sanitary sewer system.
- The sewer usage portion of residential (1-2 family) bill is based on the previous year’s winter quarter. For example, 2023 sewer usages will be based off 2022 winter quarter usage. The reasoning behind this method is to offer a discount, in that we understand that not all of the water that is used in summer will be going down the drain. Some water will be absorbed or drain into the storm sewer during watering of the grass/gardens/flowers, washing of cars, going into swimming pools, etc. We have 3 residential districts each with their own quarterly cycle.
- District 1 receives bills: 3/1; 6/1; 9/1; 12/1 (3/1/2022 water usage would be used for the winter quarter sewer usage for bills). Sewer usages will reset on 3/1 bill in the new year.
- District 2 receives bills: 1/1; 4/1; 7/1; 10/1 (4/1/2022 water usage would be used for the winter quarter sewer usage for bills) Sewer usages will reset on 4/1 bill in the new year.
- District 3 receives bills: 2/1; 5/1; 8/1; 11/1 (5/1/2022 water usage would be used for the winter quarter sewer usage for bills) Sewer usages will reset on 2/1 bill in the new year.
- If there was a water leak during the winter and you have since fixed the leak or now have a change in occupancy to fewer people in the household, please contact our office at . For new customers who do not have a prior winter quarter, default usage is used: 12 CCF for single family & 20 for duplex. If your water usage is less than the default values, please contact our office: [email protected].
- MMSD charges for:
- Sewer Usage is a charge based on water usage to cover the billings for water treatment
- Sewer Connection is a fixed charge for connection to our sanitary sewer system.
- Storm Water Usage is a fixed charge based on the amount of impervious area (artificial surfaces, such as pavement, driveway, and roofs) on a property for maintenance of our storm sewer system.
Other Charges
- Non-Sufficient Funds charge of $30.00 is issued when a payment rendered for utility service is returned for non-sufficient funds.
- Special Billing charge of $30.00 is issued to cover administrative expenses whenever an existing customer or the property owner requests a special billing outside of the normal utility billing. This charge may not be assessed to a new customer.
- Special Meter Reading charge of $50 is issued when an existing customer or the property owner requests a special meter reading on a date other than the regularly scheduled meter reading. This charge may not be assessed if the customer or the property owner provides the meter reading. This charge may not be assessed to a new customer.
- Non-Standard Meter Service (NSM-1) is issued when a customer has service under Schedule Mg-1 and requests a non-standard meter. The charge is $50.18 per quarter.
- Reconnection Charges (R-1) are for the reinstallation of a meter, including turning the valve at the curb stop. The charge is $65 during business hours and $95 after business hours.
Seasonal Service (Sg-1)
Seasonal customers are customers who request disconnection of water and later resume service at the same location within 12 months. We bill seasonal customers the applicable service charges under Schedule Mg-1 year round, including the period of temporary disconnection. Seasonal service includes customers taking service under Schedule Mg-1 or Schedule Ug-1. Upon reconnection, we apply a charge under Schedule R-1 and require payment of any unpaid charges under this schedule.
Hydrant Charges
Water usage over minimum volume charges is billed at Mg-1 scheduled rates.
Hydrant Permit
Minimum Volume Charge (17 ccf, 12,716 gallons) – $88.40
Service Charge – $65
Hydrant Permit – Hydrant Meter Use
Hydrant Meter Deposit – $250
Minimum Volume Charge (17 ccf, 12,716 gallons) – $88.40
Setting Charge – $65
Water Lateral Installation Charges (Cz-1)
We charge for the actual cost of installing a water service lateral from the main through the service valve.
Taps up to 2″ – $825
Note: In addition to tapping the water main, the contractor supplies all necessary approved materials including corporation, curb stop, and box.
Taps larger than 2″ – $560
Note: In addition to tapping the water main, the contractor supplies all necessary approved materials. We require an approved two piece stainless steel heavy duty tapping sleeve with slip through bolts and a resilient wedge gate valve.
General Metered Water Service (Mg-1) Charges (Effective 7/01/2026)
Quarterly Volume Charge
Charges are per 100 ccf** (748 gallons = 1 ccf)
Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (Mg-1S1)
Charges are $1.56 per 100 ccf used.
General Unmetered Water Service (Ug-1)
Charge per billing period (17 ccf, 12,716 gal) of $88.40
Unmetered Private Fire Protection Service (Upf-1)
Public Fire Protection Service (Fd-1)
Public Service (Mpa-1)
We bill public service charges at the Schedule Mg-1 rates. These services include:
- Sewer flushing
- Street cleaning
- Skating rinks
Sewer Rates (Effective 2-1-26)
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District rates include a quarterly connection charge of $16.41 for residential customers and $15.00 for all others. Flow charges are charged quarterly per 100 cubic feet at $2.4842 for residential customers and $2.33119 for all others.
Local Rates (Effective 2-1-21)
Local rates are charged quarterly per 100 cubic feet.
Storm Water Rates (Effective 2-1-26)
Storm Water has a quarterly equivalent residential unit (ERU) charge of $35.63 per ERU.
Planning for the Future: How we’re investing in water infrastructure
Since 2011, we have been strategically undertaking multiple large sewer rebuilding projects to replace pipes at the end of their useful life. The majority of the sewer infrastructure is 75-100 years old. We will need to maintain this level of infrastructure spending to adequately maintain the system.
The Past: What we’ve already replaced
From 2011 to 2021, we repaired and/or replaced 61 miles of sanitary sewer and 23 miles of storm sewer. Improvements replace end-of-life sewer mains, expand system capacity, and alleviate flooding during storms due to undersized pipes.
We have replaced all residential and commercial water meters. From 2011 to 2021, we replaced or relined approximately 16 miles of water mains. Given the age of our water mains, we are planning for an ongoing replacement program.
Sanitary Sewer Rates
The local sanitary rate will increase 0% in 2025.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is increasing their rates 19% which is passed onto the Wauwatosa customer in the sanitary portion of their bill. The majority of this rate increase is due to a drop in the winter quarter average used to calculate usage (see below). As a result, many residential customers will see their usage go down so the impact of the rate increase on their bill will be less than the full 19%.
Understanding the winter quarter average
The sewer usage portion of residential (1-2 family) bill is based on the previous year’s winter quarter. For example, 2023 sewer usages will be based off 2022 winter quarter water usage. The reasoning behind this method is that not all of the water used during the summer will be going down the drain. Some water will be absorbed or drain into the storm sewer during watering of the grass/gardens/flowers, washing of cars, going into swimming pools, etc.
Storm Sewer Rates
The storm water rate will increase 4% in 2025.
Sources
- https://www.consumerreports.org/cell-phone-plans/best-low-cost-cell-phone-plans/
- www.wisconsingasprices.com
- WE Energy residential rate. 2017 average monthly usage.
- https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data.php#sales
- WE Energy residential rate. 2017 monthly average
- https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_sum_a_EPG0_vrs_mmcf_m.htm
