Not always. Many CCWD customers receive both drinking water service and wastewater (sewer) service. While these services may appear on the same statement, they support separate utility systems with separate infrastructure, facilities, and operating costs.

There are several reasons:

• Your bill may include both water and wastewater services.
• Your bill includes fixed charges and usage charges.
• CCWD currently bills customers every two months, meaning a single bill typically reflects approximately 60 days of service.

When combined on one statement, these factors can make the total amount appear higher than customers might expect when comparing it to utilities that bill monthly.

Fixed charges help pay for the infrastructure and services necessary to keep water and wastewater systems available and ready to serve your property.

These costs include:

• Treatment facilities
• Storage tanks and reservoirs
• Wells and pumps
• Water and sewer pipelines
• Water quality testing
• Regulatory compliance
• Emergency preparedness
• Fire protection capacity
• System maintenance and repairs

These costs exist regardless of how much water is used during a billing period.

The infrastructure serving your property remains connected, maintained, and available whether you use a lot of water, a little water, or no water at all.

CCWD must continue to operate and maintain treatment facilities, storage tanks, pipelines, monitoring programs, emergency response capabilities, and fire protection infrastructure every day.

No.

The usage portion of your bill reflects the water you actually consume.

The fixed portion supports the infrastructure, staffing, equipment, maintenance, and services needed to provide reliable water and wastewater service whenever you need it.

Most utility costs do not significantly increase or decrease based on the amount of water used during a given month.

For example:

• Water tanks still require maintenance.
• Pipes continue to age and require replacement.
• Treatment facilities still require certified operators.
• Water quality testing must continue.
• State and federal regulations must still be met.

Because most utility costs are tied to maintaining the system itself, a portion of those costs must be recovered through fixed charges.

No.

Customers who use more water still pay more through usage-based charges. Customers who use less water generally pay less than customers who use more water.

Conservation remains one of the most effective ways to reduce the usage portion of a bill and helps preserve water resources for future generations.

Conservation helps reduce water demand and supports long-term sustainability. However, many of the costs required to operate a water and wastewater utility remain the same regardless of water use.

The District must still maintain facilities, pipelines, storage tanks, water quality programs, staffing, and emergency response capabilities.

Wastewater rates support:

• Sewer collection systems
• Lift stations and pumps
• Wastewater treatment facilities
• Environmental compliance
• Water quality monitoring
• Laboratory testing
• System maintenance
• Infrastructure replacement

These services help protect public health and the environment.

Providing a single bill is more convenient for customers and reduces administrative costs.

However, combining services on one statement can create the impression that all charges are related to drinking water when part of the bill may actually be for wastewater collection and treatment services.

Public water systems do more than provide water for household use.

CCWD's infrastructure helps support:

• Fire hydrants
• Fire flow capacity
• Emergency response operations
• Community fire protection

Even customers who use very little water benefit from having a system capable of supporting emergency response and fire protection throughout the community.

CCWD operates water and wastewater infrastructure throughout multiple communities across Calaveras County.

This includes:

• Treatment facilities
• Reservoirs and storage tanks
• Wells
• Pump stations
• Water and sewer pipelines
• Monitoring and control systems

These assets must be maintained, repaired, upgraded, and eventually replaced to provide reliable service for current and future customers.

CCWD currently bills most customers on a bi-monthly cycle, meaning each bill generally reflects approximately 60 days of service.

As a result, customers are often viewing two months of fixed charges and two months of water usage on a single statement.

Yes.

CCWD plans to transition to monthly billing in 2027.

Monthly billing is expected to provide:

• Smaller, more manageable bills
• More frequent information about water use
• Easier budgeting
• Faster identification of leaks or unusual consumption

The transition will not change the cost of providing service but will provide customers with a billing format that many people are already familiar with through other utilities.

No.

CCWD's rates are designed to recover the costs of operating, maintaining, repairing, and improving the water and wastewater systems, while meeting regulatory and financial obligations necessary to provide reliable service.

Your utility bill helps support:

✅ Safe drinking water

✅ Wastewater collection and treatment

✅ Water quality monitoring

✅ Environmental compliance

✅ Fire protection capacity

✅ Emergency preparedness

✅ Maintenance and repairs

✅ Infrastructure replacement and upgrades

✅ Reliable service throughout Calaveras County

✅ The employees who operate and maintain these systems every day

These investments help ensure that water and wastewater services remain safe, reliable, and available for current and future generations.