Proposed changes to the base charge for Alexandria’s wastewater customers will be addressed at a public hearing Saturday (May 16).
AlexRenew, which operates the city’s wastewater service, is proposing updates to how its base charge is calculated. The utility proposes calculating the base charge using the monthly water use of a typical household, rather than the current method based on a customer’s meter size. For residential customers, water use of 3,500 gallons would equal one unit. For commercial customers, average usage volume would be converted into units relative to residential customers’ usage to set the base charge.
The base charge is a fixed fee for each customer that factors into monthly bills along with a wastewater use charge based on how much water a customer uses. According to AlexRenew, “the updated base charge will ensure that everyone is billed the same amount per gallon of wastewater generated.”
The new base charge would be phased in over five years. In Fiscal Year 2027, the base charge would be calculated with 80% from the meter size and 20% from typical usage.
The proposed rates starting July 1, 2026, also incorporate a previously-approved rate increase of 5.7%. Rate increases are helping AlexRenew pay off federal and state low-interest water loans for RiverRenew, the project remediating the city’s combined sewer system.
AlexRenew is also proposing a change to the period used to calculate the winter quarter average — a billing cap to ensure customers are billed only for indoor wastewater use. The current period of December through February is proposed to shift to January through March “to reduce the likelihood of including outdoor water use,” according to the utility.
The public hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 16 at AlexRenew headquarters (1800 Limerick Street) and virtually on Microsoft Teams.
