PAY MY BILL

In providing essential drinking water, wastewater and reclaimed-water services to you, OWASA charges “cost-of-service” rates. When we say “cost-of-service,” we mean that your monthly bill totals the full cost we incur to provide service to you. The sum total of all the bills we collect from all of our customers across the community equals the cost of keeping the entire OWASA system running.

SUMMARY OF RATES (Oct 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025)

Your bill statement contains a lot of information. In summary, four basic charges make up your monthly bill:

  1. Fixed drinking water service charge
  2. A volume-based drinking water consumption charge
  3. A fixed sewer service charge
  4. A volume-based sewer discharge charge

We update rates for drinking water and wastewater each October, based on the need to generate sufficient revenue to cover OWASA’s costs of operations, including infrastructure improvements and other system projects.

What Your Monthly Bill Looks Like

Want to see what your monthly bill will look like? Click below to better understand the information you will see on your bill.

SEE EXAMPLE

If you receive monthly bills from a third-party, private company:

Nearly 10,000 multi-family units in our service area are re-billed for their water use using a practice called sub-metering. These customers receive a bill from a third-party for their water and sewer use. Third-party billing is regulated by the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

LEARN MORE

Bill Payment Options

We offer many different ways to pay your bill, from automatic drafting to paying in person, as well as paperless billing notices.

MY ACCOUNT

Read more about your bill payment options.

READ MORE

Basic Information About My Bill

Account Number

Your account number is a 9-digit code by which we can track your water use. This account number was updated in early 2024 and replaced a two-part, longer account number.

Usage

This number indicates the amount of water that flowed through your water meter during the billing period.

Current Readings/Previous Readings

These figures represent the most recent and previous readings taken from our meter.  We determine your usage based on the difference between these two figures. The difference between these numbers is your volume of water use between the two meter. For example, if the Current Reading from the meter was 12,525 and the Previous Reading was 8,900, the difference indicates that 3,625 gallons went through your meter between readings — in other words, you used 3,625 gallons of water that month.

System Development Fees

Water and sewer utilities perform studies of their rates and fees periodically to ensure the utility is recovering the costs of providing services and doing so equitably across their customer bases. Pursuant to North Carolina law, North Carolina water and sewer utilities are required to conduct a study of their System Development Fees no less than every five years. OWASA’s most recent study in 2023. 

2023 SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEE STUDY

Read the full summary and details of OWASA rates & fees.

SUMMARY OF RATES DETAILS OF RATES

Bills When Our Rates Change

As needed, our rates may change annually each October in order to generate sufficient revenue to cover OWASA’s costs of operations, capital improvements and debt service. For commercial customers, who pay “seasonal” water rates, our rates also change in May and October, due to transitions between our peak seasonal water rate (for May through September) and off-peak water rate (October through April). Additionally, some surcharges may go into effect during droughts.

When a rate change occurs, we prorate your bills. For example, if our rates change on October 1 and a customer is billed for service from September 16 to October 15, we charge for half of our service at the old rates and half at the new rates.

Regional Utility Rates

Are you curious about how our rates compare with other areas both in the Triangle and in the state of North Carolina?

Information on Water & Sewer Rates in North Carolina

Lake Recreation Fees

Boating, kayaking, fishing and more — both University Lake and Cane Creek Reservoir are open to the public for recreation between late March and early November.

For all of our recreation fees, we accept cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and checks with proper identification. The minimum age for renting a boat is 16.

Service OWASA Customer or County Resident Other Citizens
Lake Use Fee: Ages 12-64 $4.50 per Person $5.50 per Person
Lake Use Fee: Child (under 13) $2.00 per Person $2.50 per Person
Lake Use Fee: Senior Citizen (65+) Free $2.50 per Person
Boat Rental (Flat-Bottom or Canoe) $4.50 + Lake Use Fee per Person $8.00 + Lake Use Fee per Person
Kayak Rental $15.00 + Lake Use Fee per Person $20.00 + Lake Use Fee per Person
Private Boat Launch Fee (for Inspection By OWASA) $3.50 + Lake Use Fee per Person $7.00 + Lake Use Fee per Person
Individual Pass for Boat Rental $82.00 Not Offered
Individual Lake Use Pass: Ages 13-64 $46.00
Individual Boat Rental Pass $163.00
GROUP Boat Rental Pass (Three People) $163.00
GROUP Boat & Electric Motor Rental Pass (Three People) $245.00