Water and Sewer Rate Information

Atlanta’s rates have increased over the past decade to help pay for the $4 billion Clean Water Atlanta Program, a federally mandated overhaul of the City’s aging and deteriorated sewer systems. The rates are tiered to reward conservation.

The work the City has completed under the Clean Water Atlanta Program has dramatically reduced sewer overflows that used to plague the Chattahoochee and South river and their tributaries. Sewer overflows have been reduced by 70 percent in number and 97 percent by volume. Atlanta’s efforts to comply with the requirements of the federal mandates have been termed “remarkable” by Federal District Court Judge Thomas Thrash, who oversees the implementation of the consent decrees.

Some facts about water/sewer rates:

• Water/sewer rates are based on the amount of water you use.
• Water use is measured in CCF (100 cubic feet). 1 CCF = about 749 gallons of water. So, if you use four CCF, you are using 4x749 or 2,996 gallons of water every month. Please refer to our Bill Calculator for the total amount that would have to be paid.
• Atlanta and other local water service providers have adopted a conservation-based rate structure as a financial incentive to encourage customers to use less water. Per-CCF rates increase with usage; customers pay one rate for the first three CCF, a higher rate for the next three, and the highest rate for everything else
• The average Atlanta family uses eight CCF (6,000 gallons) per month. Again, refer to our Bill Calculator for the total amount that would have to be paid.
• The sewer portion of the bill is based on the amount of water that a family uses and is significantly higher than the water portion of the bill. That is because it is vastly more expensive to treat wastewater for return to the river than it is to treat river water for drinking. Additionally, the two federal Consent Decrees underlying the Clean Water Atlanta Program deal specifically with pollution of the river because of untreated wastewater (combined and sanitary sewer overflows). Funding for projects that reduce sewer overflows is also a factor in higher sewer charges.
• Senior citizens 65 years old or older can receive a discount on their water/sewer rates. For information, visit Senior Citizen Discount.

If you need the assistance of a customer service representative to understand your bill or any of these changes, please call 404-658-6500.