Superior Water Light & Power
City of Superior
Finance Department
Environmental Services
Wastewater Billing
Wastewater Billing
Since July of 1995, Superior Water Light and
Power (SWL&P) has been including charges for
municipal sewage service on customer’s monthly
utility bills.
This billing service has been provided, for a cost,
as a convenience to customers and the City.
Wastewater Billing
Beginning in January 2014, City sewage bills will
no longer be sent from SWL&P as part of their
monthly utility bill.
Wastewater Billing
Discontinuing billing for sewage service was a business
decision by SWL&P based on a number of factors
• Upcoming changes to customer information and billing system
• Review of the resources and time required to manage the sewage
billing process.
Data they will provide:
Data they will NOT provide:
• Premise ID
• Premise address
• Usage
• Tenant information
• Meter numbers
• Actual readings
• Read dates
• Reading type
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Cost and staffing
limitations require the
City to limit billing to a
quarterly basis, rather
than monthly.
Monthly billing would
require a rate increase.
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Sewage bills will be generated by the City on a quarterly
basis.
The first bill will arrive in April 2014. This bill will include
charges for the months of January, February and March.
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Subsequent bills will be sent in July, including charges for
April, May and June;
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
in October for July, August and September;
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
and January of 2015 for October, November and
December 2014.
How Will this Affect the Average Bill?
• Sewage rate 1/1/2014 is $5.50 fixed fee plus $7.71/unit
• For a family of 4 that uses 10 units/month
• 250 gallons per day
• This would mean a monthly bill of $82.60
• $5.50 + 10 units x $7.71/unit
• The quarterly bill would be $247.80
• $82.60 x 3
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Residential Rental Properties
SWL&P can only provide the City with usage data by address;
they cannot provide their customer names due to consumer
privacy requirements.
The City will bill property owners, not tenants.
The City will NOT be able to bill tenants, even if owners were to
provide written authorization.
Wastewater Bills for Rental Property
The information that will be included on each sewage bill:
• Property address, including the apartment #, if there are
separate meters for each apartment
• The monthly usage
• The variable fee and fixed fee per month
• The total monthly fee
• The reading type
• The total amount due
Example Bill for Rental Property 4-Plex
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 1
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 1
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 1
Units of
Usage
4
4
3
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 2
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 2
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 2
7
7
7
$53.97
$53.97
$53.97
$5.50
$5.50
$5.50
$59.47 Estimate
$59.47 Actual
$59.47 Actual
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 3
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 3
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 3
9
10
9
$69.39
$77.10
$69.39
$5.50
$5.50
$5.50
$74.89 Estimate
$82.60 Actual
$74.89 Actual
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 4
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 4
1234 Anywhere St. Apt 4
3
3
4
$23.13
$23.13
$30.84
$5.50
$5.50
$5.50
$28.63 Estimate
$28.63 Actual
$36.34 Actual
Address
Variable Fee @
Total Monthly
Fixed Fee
$7.71/unit
fee
$30.84
$5.50
$36.34
$30.84
$5.50
$36.34
$23.13
$5.50
$28.63
Total
Late charges
Amount Due
$605.70
$0.00
$605.70
Reading
Estimate
Actual
Actual
Wastewater Bills for Rental Property
• Beginning in January, landlords can request the most recent
twelve-month water use history for a rental unit.
• The request must be made by leaving a phone message on a
dedicated phone line or through the SWL&P website.
• Requests will be processed and responded to through email
or U. S. mail.
• Resource availability precludes SWL&P from supplying
information directly over the phone.
12-Month History from SWL&P
Usage
Month
6
Jan
12/21/2012
1/20/2013
5
Feb
1/21/2013
2/20/2013
5
Mar
2/21/2013
3/20/2013
6
Apr
3/21/2013
4/20/2013
7
May
4/21/2013
5/20/2013
6
Jun
5/21/2013
6/20/2013
7
Jul
6/21/2013
7/20/2013
7
Aug
7/21/2013
8/20/2013
5
Sep
8/21/2013
9/20/2013
6
Oct
9/21/2013
10/20/2013
7
Nov
10/21/2013
11/20/2013
6
Dec
11/21/2013
12/20/2013
Date range
12-Month History from SWL&P
Usage
Month
Date range
5
Feb
1/21/2013
2/20/2013
5
Mar
2/21/2013
3/20/2013
6
Apr
3/21/2013
4/20/2013
7
May
4/21/2013
5/20/2013
6
Jun
5/21/2013
6/20/2013
7
Jul
6/21/2013
7/20/2013
7
Aug
7/21/2013
8/20/2013
5
Sep
8/21/2013
9/20/2013
6
Oct
9/21/2013
10/20/2013
7
Nov
10/21/2013
11/20/2013
6
Dec
11/21/2013
12/20/2013
4
Jan
12/21/2013
1/10/2014
Suppose it’s Mar 10, 2014
• The Jan 2014 bill covered Oct – Dec.
• Meters are read on the 21 st of each month.
• Therefore the sewage owing would need to include:
•
•
•
The Jan reading for 12/22/13 – 1/21/14
Feb reading for 1/22/14 – 2/21/14
A March final reading: 2/22-3/10
6 units
7 units
4 units
By requesting a 12-month history on 3/11/14 you will see
these amounts and can calculate the sewage owing
17 units x 7.71 = 131.07 + 16.50 (5.50 x 3) = 147.57
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Commercial properties:
With written authorization, similar to that required for
stormwater billing, sewage bills can be sent to the local facility
instead of a corporate office.
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Bill Consolidation
The City will work with property owners to provide bills
listing their properties in a manner that best suits their
needs, if at all possible.
Using the same software for wastewater and stormwater
billing may mean if Stormwater bills are consolidated, the
same consolidation scheme will need to be used for
wastewater.
Wastewater Quarterly Billing
Questions?
City of Superior
Diane Nelson
Stormwater and
Administrative Manager
715-395-5826
[email protected]
City of Superior
Dan Zuchowski
Assistant Finance Director
Superior Water Light & Power
Customer Service Center
715-395-7437
[email protected]
715-394-2200
[email protected]