How to read your sewer, stormwater, water bill

Information
A picture of an older and younger person looking at a piece of paper together. The right side of the picture is covered with a light blue stripe with three wavy lines. Overlaying the image and the stripe is a dark blue icon with white lines depicting a piece of paper with a magnifying glass over one corner.
This page explains how single-family residential customers can read and understand their bill.
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Who should use this page

This page is only applicable for single-family residential bills. If you're a commercial, sewer only, multifamily, or other type of customer, contact Customer Service or visit our rates and charges page.

Parts of the bill

Sample sewer, stormwater, and water bill.
An example bill with numbered parts that correspond with the numbered headers below.

1. Account number

You'll need to know your account number when you call us or register for online account access. (You can register online once you've received your first bill.)

2. Amount due and due date

Amount due and due date show the amount you owe and when payment is due.

3. Days of service

Days of service shows how many days this bill covers. The City of Portland reads most customers' water meters once every three months, and sends bills every three months too. If you'd like to pay monthly, sign up for our monthly statements billing option.

4. Usage in CCF

Water meters measure water use in CCF, or hundred cubic feet. One CCF = 748 gallons. A typical Portland household uses 15 CCF of water (about 7 CCF per person) every three months. Check the water use graph on your bill to track your water use over the last year.

5. Service charges

Water volume is the amount of water your household used during the time covered by this bill. This charge pays for Portland's drinking water system.

Sewer volume charges pay for Portland's sewer system. Residential sewer charges are based on winter average water use or actual use, whichever is lower. Commercial sewer charges are based on actual water use.

Stormwater billable area is the property's developed area and includes areas like rooftops, pavers, patios, and driveways. Single-family residential properties are placed into small, standard, or large categories based on the property's amount of stormwater billable area. This charge helps pay for managing stormwater runoff from individual properties. 

The stormwater service unit charge is based on the number of dwelling units and helps pay for the shared stormwater system we all rely on. A single-family customer's bill will read "single," as the method used to calculate the charge, followed by the number of units charged for the property. For multifamily, commercial, industrial, or non-residential properties, please see our stormwater charges page. 

Clean River Rewards is a discount program for customers who are safely managing the rain on their property. Learn more at our Clean River Rewards page. 

The Portland Harbor Superfund charge pays for the City's participation in the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup

The base charge is a per-day charge for account services such as meter reading, billing, collection, and customer service. This is a charge all customers pay.

6. Back of the bill

The back of your bill includes Customer Service's hours of operation, payment mailing address, and Walk-in Center location, as well as information about late fees and how to avoid them by setting up payment arrangements.

The back also includes information about financial assistance.

On the bottom: You can donate to GreenBucks, a program that helps Portland Public Schools maintain stormwater management facilities on school properties, by checking the box or registering for GreenBucks online.