About Your Bill

The charges for all Connecticut Water customers include a Basic Service Charge, a Water Usage Charge and any Applicable Charges or Credits.

Basic Service Charge is applied each billing period to help cover a portion of fixed costs such as meter reading, testing and replacement, bill preparation and processing, etc. The basic service charge is based on the meter size at your account. The Basic Service Charge is applied even if there is no consumption at a premise during a particular billing period.

Commodity Charge is based on the amount of water used during the billing period times the applicable charge for your customer class (residential, commercial, industrial, public authority and seasonal). The commodity charge shows on the bill in units of gallons or cubic feet depending on how the meter installed at your premises records the usage.

Applicable Charges or Credits are PURA approved charges applied on a percentage basis to the total of the Basic Service Charge, Commodity Charge and miscellaneous service charges as noted below. These may include:

• Water Infrastructure and Conservation Adjustment (WICA). The WICA recovers the costs for eligible infrastructure projects. The WICA may be adjusted every 6 months.
• Water Revenue Adjustment (WRA). The WRA is reviewed annually and may be a charge or credit on customers’ bills based on actual revenues collected in the prior year. WRA is applied to miscellaneous service charges and service fees and ensures that water utilities do not over collect or under collect the revenues that were approved in rates by PURA.
• CT Department of Public Health (DPH) Safe Drinking Water Fee. This charge is a result of a law passed by the Connecticut legislature in 2017 that established a Safe Drinking Water Assessment fee for all public water systems in the state. This fee was established to help fund the Connecticut Department of Public Health's (DPH) Safe Drinking Water Program and meet their obligations under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as other state and federal funding has been reduced. This is a pass through charge to the state.

Your bill may also include a charge for one of Connecticut Water’s optional Linebacker® Protection Programs. Linebacker protection is available to residential customers to repair or replace the service line coming in their home, the sewer or septic line leaving the home, and indoor household plumbing. The Linebacker charge on your bill will vary depending on what plan you subscribe to.  

How interest is assessed on late payments   

Effective February 24, 2012, Connecticut Water is assessing interest on late payments as follows:   

• Interest of 1.5% will be assessed on any unpaid balance after 30 days and will be reflected on the “Reminder Notice.”
• An additional 1.5% interest (a total 3%) will be assessed on any unpaid balance that remains unpaid after 60 days and will be reflected on the “Shut Off” notice.     
• If after 90 days there is an unpaid balance, an additional 1.5% interest (a total of 4.5%) will be reflected on the next billing statement.

Payments not posted to the account prior to generation of the notice will incur the charge so every effort should be made to make sure payments arrive and are posted prior to the time frames indicated.

Customers who pay their water bill when the “Reminder Notice” is received should be aware that after February 24, 2012 an interest charge of 1.5% will be included on that notice.

The interest charge and schedule for assessing interest on unpaid balances has been approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

For an illustration and line-by-line explanation of a Connecticut Water bill, please see Understanding Your Bill.

Questions About Your Bill   

If you have questions about your bill, please call a Customer Service representative at 1-800-286-5700. If you prefer to send your questions with your payment, please use a separate piece of paper and include your name, address and account number. Notes written on the bill may delay the processing of your payment.   

Users of Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) may call 1-800-649-9118. 

A rate schedule that explains the various charges that appear on your bill and copies of our Rules and Regulations are available at any of our offices or by calling 1-800-286-5700 as well as here on our website under Rate Schedule and Rules and Regulations.

Direct written communications to:
Connecticut Water
Customer Service Manager
93 West Main Street
Clinton, CT 06413