Why we use continuous billing

Managing your water and stormwater services

We understand that managing household expenses can be challenging. One topic that often raises questions is continuous billing, especially for water and stormwater services. Read on to learn what continuous billing means, how it’s reflected on your bill, and why it’s essential for our community.

What is continuous billing?

Continuous billing means you receive a bill for water and stormwater services, even if your water usage is minimal or no one is living at the property. The Water Bureau bills for the base charge every day for most account types, even if the property is unoccupied or does not have a structure on it. Stormwater charges are billed every day if there is stormwater billable area on the property as determined by the Bureau of Environmental Services. The property owner is responsible for the bill unless another party, such as a tenant, has accepted responsibility.

Why do we use continuous billing?

Water and stormwater services are critical to the health, safety, and well-being of our community. Every property connected to the water system is served by our maintenance, metering and customer service teams regardless of how much water they use. Stormwater services that manage runoff and maintain drainage benefit everyone. Even if a building is uninhabited or a piece of land is vacant, stormwater services keep the property from being flooded, damaged, and/or losing value. Continuous billing helps cover these ongoing costs, ensuring that water and stormwater services are always available.

What does continuous billing look like on your bill?

When you receive a bill during a period of low or no water usage, you’ll still see certain charges:

• Base charge: This is a per-day charge for account services such as meter reading, billing, collection, customer service, and maintaining the service line up to the meter. This is a charge all customers pay.
• Stormwater billable area and stormwater service unit: These charges reflect the cost of managing stormwater, which continues even if no metered water is used at the property.

If you haven’t used any water, you won’t see a water volume charge or sewer volume charge because those charges are based on water consumption.

How does continuous billing benefit you?

• Water is always ready when you need it: Even if you haven’t used water in a while, we ensure clean, safe water is available the moment you turn on the tap.
• Your home and environment are protected: Even when no one is living at the property, our stormwater systems work continuously to manage rainwater and prevent flooding in streets and spaces we all use and rely on.
• You help keep the system strong for the future: Your payment helps maintain, repair, and replace aging infrastructure, ensuring reliable service for both current and future generations.

Can any of these charges be stopped?

• How to stop stormwater charges: If you demolished all structures on your property, it is possible that you also removed stormwater services. Contact Customer Service at 503-823-7770 to request that stormwater charges be stopped on your account. Be prepared to present the post-demolition inspection report from Portland Permitting & Development to Customer Service.
• How to stop water charges: To stop all water charges, the water service must be permanently removed (or “killed”) and disconnected from the main. This involves Water Bureau crews removing the meter and meter box, capping the service at the water main, and restoring the area around the meter box. Contact Water Service at 503-823-7368 (option 5) to determine the cost of service removal for a specific location. Please note that permanently removing a water service may decrease a property’s value, as it would be necessary to pay installation fees and potentially additional system development charges to add a new service in the future.

Apply for the Clean River Rewards program

Clean River Rewards provides up to a 35 percent discount on stormwater bills for customers who manage stormwater on their property. This could help reduce your continuously billed stormwater charges.

We’re here to help

If you have any questions or are struggling with payments, please reach out to Customer Service. We offer programs to help make your bill more manageable. Thank you for trusting the Portland Water Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services to provide essential water and stormwater services.