Understanding Your Water Bill

Billing occurs bi-monthly, typically every other month, based on your water meter reading date. Meter readings are conducted in phases across different service areas, resulting in varied billing cycles for each area."

If you have a question on when you will receive your next bill, visit the Online Customer Service Portal, call (503) 848-3000 or email customerservice [at] tvwd.org (customerservice[at]tvwd[dot]org) 

Cycle Bill: The standard bill sent when your water bill is due.

Reminder Notice: A reminder sent approximately 15 days after your due date if your bill remains unpaid.

Urgent Notice: A notice of impeding water service shutoff sent approximately 30 days after your due date if your bill remains unpaid.

Estimated Bill: Cycle bills sent if TVWD was unable to read your meter for any reason. 

True-Up Bill: Your first bill after an estimated bill. The True-Up bill may be higher or lower than a normal bill depending on if your estimated bill was overestimated or underestimated.

Adjustment Bill: Sent if there is a correction or adjustment to a bill outside of the regular billing cycle.

Closing Bill: Sent when you close your account and will no longer receive service at that address.

2nd Notice Closing: Sent if a closing bill remains unpaid.

Collection Notice: Sent prior to sending your account to an outside third-party collection agency when TVWD does not receive payment for service after the customer’s account has been closed and won’t respond to other notifications.

Water Residential Volume Block 1: Water usage charge for up to 28 CCF* (residential customers) or up to 1.4 times the 12-month moving average (commercial and multi-family customers).

Water Residential Volume Block 2: Water usage charge for more than 28 CCF (residential customers) or more 1.4 times the 12-month moving average (commercial and multi-family customers). 

Water Residential Fixed Charge: Drinking water charges regardless of how much water used.

Sewer Base Charge: Sewer charges regardless of how much water is used.

Sewer Usage Charge: Sewer charges based on the average winter water consumption from November through April.

Surface Water Charge: Supports enhancing and maintaining the public drainage system, help managing roadway flooding, responding to flooding emergencies, and protecting the health of the Tualatin River and its urban tributaries.

Water Dispatch Fee: Charged when water service is shut off for non-payment.

Snowbird Turn Off: Charge for turning off a water meter while customers are enrolled in the Snowbird program.

Water Remove Meter: Charge for removing a water meter to prevent unauthorized water use.

Water Illegal Use: Charge for unauthorized water use.

Water Lock Meter Charge: Charge for locking a water meter to prevent unauthorized water use.

Returned Payment: Charge for a payment that did not process and was returned by a financial institution.

Backflow Gold Plan Fee: Charge for participating in the Backflow Prevention Gold Plan Program.

Backflow Enforcement Fee: Charge for not having a backflow prevention assembly device pass annual testing by the enforcement date.

Right of Way: Charged by a city (Beaverton, Hillsboro or Tigard) for locating pipes and other infrastructure within the public rights-of-way.

Water Leak Adjustment (Rec): After repairing and applying for a water leak adjustment, a credit to your bill for the excess water used during the leak.

Water Volume Charge (Rec): Other adjustments to your bill, such as a credit/debit for a water meter misread or true up for a previous estimated bill.

Water Volume Adjustment - Assuming of Unbilled Charges: Water used at a premises with no active person during a period of time.

TVWD offers a variety of options to help you with your water bill. Visit our Bill Assistance web page for more information.

If you suspect your water bill is higher than it should be, here are a few common causes of higher-than-normal water bills:

Increased water use

• Watering your lawn or garden, turning on your sprinkler system.
• Hosting additional guests at your house.
• Filling a swimming pool, hot tub, or outdoor water feature.
• Using more water during hot weather.
• Cleaning or power washing.
• Repairing, remodeling or construction activities that used water.

Water leaks

Some leaks are silent and unnoticeable, especially those in toilets and irrigation systems. 

• Detect a water leak.

Rate increases

Most residential customers are jointly billed by Tualatin Valley Water for drinking water services and Clean Water Services or the City of Beaverton for sewer and surface water management services. Rates for both utilities increase, usually every year. New drinking water rates are effective November 1, and new sewer/surface water management rates are effective July 1. 

• TVWD Rate Process
• TVWD Residential Drinking Water Rates
• TVWD Commercial Drinking Water Rates
• Clean Water Services Sewer and Surface Water Management Rates
• City of Beaverton Sewer and Surface Water Management Rates

Misread meters

If our billing system suspects a meter read is higher or lower than it should be, it is automatically flagged and our customer service representatives are notified. 

To check for a misread water meter:

1. Locate your water meter.
2. Lift the cover to see the dial, record the numbers.
3. Compare what’s on the dial to the numbers listed on the back of your bill. However, please be aware the numbers will naturally be higher due to regular water usage between when the meter was read and when you are checking for the misread meter.

If you don’t have access to your meter or you note a discrepancy, minus what has been reasonably used since the last time your meter was read, contact us at customerservice [at] tvwd.org (customerservice[at]tvwd[dot]org) or (503) 848-3000.

A small subset of customers are billed monthly, but TVWD does not offer monthly or equal billing to customers who are billed every 60 days.

TVWD offers a snowbird program so customers can temporarily suspend water and sewer fixed charges while they are away from the property for an extended period of time:

• Minimum of 60 days off: To qualify, your service must be turned off for a minimum of 60 days. There is a $120 charge to cover the additional services related to turning off/on your meter which is applied on your return bill.
• Maximum of 12 months: After twelve months, contact us to re-establish full service or to make further arrangements.
• Reduced Billing: While enrolled, you will not be billed fixed water or sewer charges, but you will continue to be billed surface water charges. You may receive a prorated bill for services prior to the snowbird start date.
• Reactivation: Reactivation will automatically be scheduled based on the date that you requested during enrollment. If you need to change this date, please contact us at least one business day prior. 

For more information or to sign up, call (503) 848-3000.

TVWD bills most customers every 60 days (or bi-monthly) to help save on costs. This approach reduces expenses for meter reading, postage, and mailing, allowing us to keep our operations efficient and water rates as low as possible.