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Queen Creek staff preview wastewater 'winter average' changes; some customers will pay more, others less
Summary
Town staff described the annual reset of wastewater bills based on the winter-average method (Dec–Feb consumption at 70%), noting a net revenue effect of roughly $240,000 (about 2%). About 8,500 single-family accounts will see decreases and about 10,331 will see increases; conservation staff described outreach and leak-notification programs.
Town staff presented the annual update to how Queen Creek computes residential wastewater bills — the “winter average” method — and outlined customer outreach, leak detection and conservation efforts. The council received the informational presentation; no formal council action was required.
Scott McCarty, who presented the item, said wastewater bills for the town’s roughly 22,000 connections are set using a winter average based on December–January–February water consumption and a 70% flow factor (the town assumes 70% of metered water reaches the treatment plant). McCarty said bills based on the next winter-average calculation will be mailed to customers in late July and early August.
McCarty said the distribution of changes is mixed: about 8,500 single-family accounts (roughly 45% of single-family customers) will see a decrease totaling about $727,000 compared with the prior year, while about 10,331 accounts will see increases totaling about $960,000. He summarized the net effect for the utility as roughly $233,000 more in revenue for single-family combined accounts and a net revenue change across the wastewater utility of about $240,000, roughly 2% of the utility’s projected $11.2 million in revenues.
McCarty also reviewed policies adopted earlier: in 2019 the town reduced the flow factor from 90% to 70% (reducing bills), and in 2021 the council adopted a consumption cap for wastewater billing (capping wastewater charges for very large water users at 17,000 gallons) to avoid charging for outdoor water that likely does not reach the treatment plant. McCarty said roughly 1,400 accounts qualify for the cap.
Water conservation staff described customer-notification efforts tied to the winter averaging process. Staff said they send high-use notices when a customer’s monthly use exceeds 200% of the typical monthly use year-over-year, and leak notifications when flow shows about 25 gallons continuous use for 96 hours. Conservation staff said they send roughly 5,800 high-use notices annually and about 1,200 leak notifications; they also complete about 7,100 water audits a year. Staff said they plan to begin turf-replacement incentive messaging in mid-July and to augment winter-average messaging with tailored advice (for example, discouraging overseeding during the winter averaging period) and to use the new customer portal once it is fully available for near-real-time usage feedback.
Councilmembers asked about notification procedures and whether customers can set alerts in the portal or should call the office to request an account review; conservation staff advised customers to call the water conservation team for assistance and said planned portal features will allow for more customer-set alerts. Councilmember Benning offered a positive customer-service example from the department, and Councilmember Brown asked about the turf-replacement incentive rollout and timing.
The presentation was informational; council did not change rates or adopt an ordinance. Staff will proceed with communications to customers and implement the updated winter-average bills on the schedule presented.
