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Water Bill Calculator

Most water bills combine a flat service fee with a usage-based charge — this adds both together.

Water usage (units)

Rate per unit ($)

Flat base fee ($)

Total bill

Water utilities typically use billing units like CCF (hundred cubic feet) or thousand gallons — check your bill for the exact unit and rate.

What you entered

Water usage (units): 8Rate per unit ($): 4.5Flat base fee ($): 15

1
Usage cost
8 × $4.5= $36
2
Add the flat base fee
$36 + $15= $51

Result

Total bill: 51

8 units at $4.5/unit plus a $15 base fee comes to $51.

Water bill from usage, rate and standing charge

The bill is usage times the rate per unit, plus a fixed standing charge that applies regardless of how much you use.

Usage (units)	Rate per unit	Standing charge	Usage cost	Total bill
10	$1.50	$20.00	$15.00	$35.00
15	$2.50	$18.00	$37.50	$55.50
20	$1.50	$20.00	$30.00	$50.00
30	$2.00	$25.00	$60.00	$85.00
50	$1.80	$30.00	$90.00	$120.00

The standing charge is the part that surprises people: at 10 units it is more than half the bill, so halving your usage does not halve what you pay. That fixed component covers infrastructure and is charged whether you use any water or none, which is why a holiday home still receives a bill. Rates and unit definitions vary by supplier - a unit is commonly a cubic metre, which is 1,000 litres - and many bills separate fresh water from wastewater at different rates, so check whether your figure covers both.

Billing units vary by utility

Water utilities bill in different units — CCF (hundred cubic feet), thousand gallons, or cubic meters are all common — check your bill to see which unit and rate applies before comparing to a neighbor or a different city.

Tiered rates are common

Many utilities charge higher rates for usage above a certain threshold (to discourage waste) rather than one flat rate for all usage — this calculator uses a single flat rate, so treat it as an estimate if your utility uses tiered pricing.

Frequently asked questions

My bill says I used 5 CCF of water at $4.50 per CCF with a $15 base fee — what's my total?

5 CCF × $4.50 = $22.50 for usage, plus the $15 base fee = $37.50 total. One CCF is about 748 gallons, so 5 CCF ≈ 3,740 gallons for the billing period.

What's a CCF and how does it compare to gallons?

CCF stands for 'hundred cubic feet' — 1 CCF = 748 gallons. Some utilities bill in thousand-gallon units instead. Check your bill's unit before entering numbers here — using the wrong unit will produce a result that's off by a large factor.

How is this different from the Electricity Cost Calculator?

Both multiply a usage amount by a per-unit rate, but this calculator also adds a flat base/service fee that most water utilities charge regardless of how much water you use. Electricity bills sometimes have a similar fee, but it's less universal.