Water Rates: Residential Metered and Flat Rate
Are you a residential customer?
Residential customers include:
- Single-family homes
- Duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes
- Attached homes where units have an individual City water meter (Please note: your unit’s water meter may be located on a meter tree in a neighboring unit.)
If you don’t fit the description above, you may be a multi-family customer.
Metered rates and flat rates
There are two types of rates for this customer group (detailed below):
Residential Metered (based on a household using 19m3 per month)
Residential metered customers include residences containing one or more dwelling units that are individually metered by The City, and those with less than five dwelling units (regardless of how each is metered).
Residential Metered Customers (Based on household using 19m3 per month) | ||||||
2025 | 2026 | % change | Impact on monthly bill | 2026 monthly bill | ||
| Water treatment and supply | Usage rate per cubic metre (1 cubic metre = 1000 litres) | $1.5972 | $1.7409 | +6.54% | +$2.88 | $46.91 |
Service charge per 30 days | $13.68 | $13.83 | ||||
| Wastewater collection and treatment | Usage rate per cubic metre* (1 cubic metre = 1000 litres) | $1.7959 | $1.9050 | +1.35% | +$0.73 | $55.30 |
Service charge per 30 days | $24.54 | $23.45 | ||||
| Stormwater management | Service charge per 30 days | $16.30 | $17.00 | +4.29% | +$0.70 | $17.00 |
* Not all of the water delivered to your home over 12 months is returned to the wastewater system. The wastewater usage is your water usage multiplied by 0.88 to reflect that over the course of the year you return around 88% of the water used to the wastewater system.
This percentage is used year round and recognizes seasonal fluctuations where you send more water to the wastewater treatment system in the winter months and less during the summer months because of outdoor activities like watering.
Residential Flat rate
Residential customers that do not have a water meter to measure the amount of water being used are billed on a flat rate.
Visit the water meter installation page to arrange to have a meter installed.
Water Utility rates for residences on a flat rate are calculated according to the square feet of actual lot area and gross building area based on the original development permit submitted to The City of Calgary Planning department. For detailed information on your flat rate calculation, please call 311.
The following 2023-2026 Water Utility rates are based on 30 days of service, which means the amount on your bill may vary depending on the number of days you have been billed.
Flat rate water treatment and supply
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$ per thousand square feet of actual lot area* |
6.1240 |
6.1240 |
6.1240 |
6.1240 |
|
$ per thousand square feet of gross building area* |
19.0978 |
19.0978 |
19.0978 |
19.0978 |
Minimum monthly rates (for 2023-2026 is $46.17):
If the total water charge for a flat rate customer falls below the minimum monthly water rate, the customer will be charged the monthly minimum rate for water and this amount will be used to calculate the wastewater charge.
Flat rate wastewater collection and treatment
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Percentage of water charge for flat rate customers |
144.46% |
144.46% |
144.46% |
144.46% |
Flat rate stormwater management
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stormwater service charge (formerly Drainage) ($ per 30 days) |
15.63 |
15.63 |
16.30 |
17.00 |
For example, a home is assessed at 6,000 square feet of lot area and 2,000 square feet of building footprint:
Water Treatment Charge (Lot): 6.1240 × 6 = $36.74
Water Supply Charge (Building): 19.0978 × 2 = $38.20
Wastewater Collection & Treatment: (1.4446* $74.94)= $108.26
Stormwater = $17.00
Total Base Flat Rate: = $200.20
The typical residential customer on a metered rate pays approximately $119.21 per month based on average water use of 19 m³. Compared with the flat-rate example, that's a savings of about $80.99 per month, with the flat rate costing approximately 68% more.
Water rates and service charges
Each year we review and adjust rates and service charges to ensure we can continue to deliver the City utility services you value.
In 2026, residential metered customers saw their bill increase.
- The typical monthly water bill increased from $114.89 to $119.21 in 2026 in 2025, a 3.76 per cent increase.