Your monthly bill can be a signal to you. Water usage in the inefficient, excessive, and wasteful tiers can mean you have an undetected leak or need to have your allocation ajusted to account for changes in your residence. We can work with you to determine why you are above your allocation. Our allocation system provides more than enough water so you should not see charges in the inefficient, excessive, or wasteful tiers unless there is something out of the ordinary going on. 

A high bill could mean that you will need a variance (residential customers) or a base index review (business customers) to increase your water allocation. 

More likely, you might have on-going or intermittent leak that needs attention, or the landscape is being over watered. A running toilet or other fixture is among the most common causes for over allocation charges. Once you find and fix the problem, and water usage is back within allocation, contact Customer Service for a leak adjustment.

For assistance, please call IRWD Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 or email customerservice@irwd.com.

Allocations are determined based on the number of people in your home, landscape size, and the weather. The allocation for a single family home provides enough water for four people and 1,300 square feet of landscape; condos and town homes receive enough water for three people and 435 square feet of landscape; and apartments are allocated for two people with no landscape. Variances are available for more people living in the home, larger landscaped areas, or other special needs. For more information about our technical water rate formulas, click here.

A variance is an increased water allocation for residential customers. Variances are given for additional occupants, special medical needs, and larger landscaped areas, among other things. An approved variance is effective on the date the request is submitted to IRWD and a retroactive adjustment of charges is made for the current and prior month's bill. 

All new customers receive a variance application with instructions. Customers who feel they qualify should complete a variance request form and return it to IRWD along with the required documentation.  

Customers can apply for a variance online or print a variance application. 

Please note: Customers in the Orange Park Acres rate area are not on the IRWD rate structure and therefore do not qualify for variances at this time.

When a business grows, water needs may increase as well. Adding more employees, increasing manufacturing output, and servicing more customers may push water consumption above the historical base index (allocation). If this happens, inefficient, excessive, or wasteful  charges will appear on the water bill. 

IRWD will re-evaluate a business customer's allocation upon request. Please call Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 or email at customerservice@irwd.com for assistance.

After a customer detects a leak and repairs are made, if water usage goes back within allocation, we will re-bill the usage in the penalty tiers (inefficient, excessive, and wasteful) at the conservation base rate. You are still responsible for paying for the water, but the usage over allocation is re-billed for you at the conservation rate.

Please note: Customers in the Orange Park Acres rate area area are not on the IRWD rate structure and therefore do not qualify for leak adjustments at this time.

Our rate structure is designed to promote two fundamental values: first, to allocate costs fairly and equitably to all customers so that each customer pays his, or her, fair share and no more; and second, to manage inappropriate over-consumption of water and conserve resources. For more than thirty-five years we have continuously refined our cost allocation methods and have implemented an allocation-based conservation rate structure that is considered a model for rate structures nation-wide. If IRWD were to implement a low income or senior discount rate, it would effectively shift these costs to other customers, an outcome is inconsistence with our fundamental cost allocation objectives.

IRWD rates are, and for some time now have been, among the lowest in all of Orange County. Residents who live outside the IRWD service area in one of the few water districts or city water utilities in Orange County that have either a senior citizen or low income discount program would most likely still have higher costs for water and sewer service than with IRWD.

Residential customers pay a "low volume" commodity rate for the first 40% of their water allocation. Water usage is reviewed each year on December 31 and when an account has established a 12-month history, sewer rates are adjusted accordingly. As a result, customers who use low volumes of water are charged lower sewer rates. Monthly water and sewer service charges are set to recover the fixed costs of maintaining our water distribution system. All rates and charges are reviewed annually and adopted by our publicly elected Board of Directors.

IRWD offers a free service to owners of rental properties that saves you from having to pay a $15 new account fee each time there is a change in tenancy. When your tenant calls to cancel service, the water service stays on and the billing automatically reverts to your name. When a new tenant moves in and calls us to establish service in their name, you receive a closing bill. Please call Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 to take advantage of this service. Download the Continuous Service Agreement for Property Managers.

One-time courtesy adjustments are available to customers who go over allocation for filling a swimming pool, and other special circumstances not related to leaks. When an adjustment is made, the excess units of water billed in the inefficient, excessive, or wasteful tiers are re-billed at the conservation base rate. 

If payment is not received within twenty-five (25) days after the bill date, a 10% late charge will be levied on the original unpaid balance plus 1.5 percent interest thereafter until paid.

Upon your request, IRWD will send a copy of any termination notice to a third party (friend, relative, social agency, etc.) who has agreed to accept such notices. The third party has no obligation to pay your bill but would learn of our action in time to help you. Contact Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 for more information.

The property owner is responsible for maintenance of water and sewer pipes on the "customer side" of the water meter. This means the interior plumbing of the home, the outside irrigation system, and the area where the property's water system connects to the water meter. In the case of sewer service, the customer is responsible for the pipes in the home and on the property to the point where they connect to the sewer main in the street.

IRWD is responsible for what is called "the street side" of the water meter, including all water mains in the street and continuing through the community distribution system. IRWD is also responsible for sewer mains from the point where each individual property ties into the sewer main in the street. If you notice a water leak in the street or in the area of your water meter, call IRWD Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 to report it.

Within the IRWD service area, there are several apartment complexes and mobile home parks that are master-metered. This means that each individual unit or mobile home does not have a water meter, rather there is a master meter for the complex or group of units. In this situation, IRWD will send one bill for the master water meter to the property owner or managment firm for payment. Some apartment complexes and mobile home parks will then bill their customers indivudally using a submetering company. If you have questions on your bill, please call the phone number on your utility bill.

A refundable $50 deposit for 5/8" non-residential meters and a refundable $100 deposit for non-residential meters larger than 5/8" may be required at the time of service application. A non-refundable fee of $15 (not a deposit) is charged to establish a new account for residential water and sewer service, or to transfer an existing account to a new location.