SMWD

The Santa Margarita Water District is a public agency that provides water, recycled water, and wastewater services. The District's rates are based on the actual costs to provide these services to our customers and were developed based on cost allocation principles and requirements in accordance with California Proposition 218 requirements.

The 2023 Addendum to the 2019 Cost of Service and Rate Study established the rates effective January 1, 2024. The rates displayed on this page do not apply to customers residing in the City of San Juan Capistrano. Rate information for San Juan Capistrano customers can be viewed here.

The District's water and wastewater rate structure contains three categories of charges:

Commodity Charge - costs to buy or produce water

Fixed Monthly Base Charge - costs for operations, facilities and capital

Power Surcharge - costs to pump water to the varying elevations in the service area


The commodity charges are based on the actual demands placed on the water and wastewater utility and customers are charged per Hundred Cubic Feet (CCF) of water used.

Since all customers benefit from the pipes, pumps, reservoirs, and future water reliability programs, these infrastructure costs are recovered by the fixed base charges and are based on the size of the water meter servicing a property; the majority of residential customers have 3/4" or 1" meters.

The bill calculator provides a convenient way to estimate your bill based on current rates and rates proposed to go into effect January 1, 2024.  

What has SMWD done to reduce costs?

Reduce energy costs by $400,000 with solar arrayReduced operational costs by $500,000 through operational and technology efficienciesReduced imported water costs by $2 million by using recycled water


  1. Residential Customers
  2. Commercial Customers
  3. Recycled Water Customer

Residential Customers

SMWD Bill = Commodity + Fixed + Power Surcharge

Tier 1 & Tier 2

Potable Water Commodity Rates ($/CCF)

Single and Multi-Family Customers
Tier 1$2.56
Tier 2$2.95
Tier 3$3.81
Tier 4$6.22


Potable Water Fixed Base Charge ($/meter size)

¾” & 1" Residential*$25.16
1 ½”$54.15
2"$79.33

*The majority of residential customers have a ¾ inch or 1 inch meter

Power Surcharge ($/CCF)*

Zone 3$0.12
Zone 4$0.20
Zone 5$0.34

*Zones are based on elevation

Wastewater Commodity Charge ($/CCF)

Single-Family$1.12Maximum of 9 CCF
Multi-Family$1.12Maximum of 7 CCF

Wastewater Fixed Base Charge ($/meter size)

Single-Family
$32.21
Multi-Family Single Meter
$29.06
Multi-Family Common Meter, per Account
$14.41
Multi-Family Common Meter, per Dwelling Unit
$14.65