How an NYC water bill is calculated
Most NYC homes and many apartment buildings are billed on metered use. DEP reads your meter in cubic feet and bills in units of 100 cubic feet, called HCF. One HCF is about 748 gallons. Your water charge is the HCF you used times the water rate. Then the sewer (wastewater) charge is added at 159% of the water charge. That second part is why the sewer line is always bigger than the water line on your bill.
FY2027 rates (from July 1, 2026)
- Water
- $5.35 / HCF
- Up from $5.05 in FY2026 (a 6.0% increase)
- Sewer
- 159% of water
- Same percentage as FY2026
- Water + sewer
- ≈ $13.86 / HCF
- About $18.52 per 1,000 gallons
- Minimum water charge
- $0.49 / day
- Per meter, when usage costs less
In short: bill = (gallons ÷ 748) × water rate × 2.59, with a floor of $0.49 a day for water before sewer is added.
Worked example: a family of four
Say four people each use about 60 gallons a day. That is 240 gallons a day. Over a 91-day billing period, that comes to 21,840 gallons, or about 29.2 HCF.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water used | 21,840 gal = 29.2 HCF |
| Water: 29.2 HCF × $5.35 | $156.20 |
| Sewer: 159% of water | $248.35 |
| Total for the quarter | $404.55 |
| Annual (365 days) | about $1,623 |
At FY2026 rates the same household would have paid about $381.87 for the quarter. The 60 gallons per person figure is the residential baseline the Water Board uses in its water reuse rules, not a measurement of your home. Your own meter history in My DEP Account is a better input.
What a leak costs
Leaks are billed like any other water. A leak losing 200 gallons a day adds about $337 to a 91-day bill and about $1,352 a year at FY2027 rates. Enter a leak in the tool to see your number. If a leak has already produced a large bill, DEP's Leak Forgiveness Program can help when the leak bill is at least 200% of a normal bill, you fix the leak and apply within 120 days of the bill date, and you haven't received leak forgiveness in the last two years. The Rate Schedule also has a Metered Bill Cap for residential properties hit by large, unexpected bills for reasons outside the owner's control; you must ask in writing within 120 days of the bill date. DEP must find no leak or waste at the property, at least 70% of the toilets must be low-consumption, and the cap is granted once per two years.
Apartment buildings and the Multi-family Conservation Program
Residential buildings with four or more apartments may join the Multi-family Conservation Program (MCP) and pay a fixed charge per unit instead of metered charges. For FY2027 that is $1,412.60 per dwelling unit per year, $1,162.97 per low-consumption commercial unit and $400.54 per boarder, roomer or lodger unit. Buildings must meet DEP conservation requirements, such as low-consumption toilets. A 20-unit building on MCP pays $28,252 a year. Compare that with the metered estimate for the same building before deciding which is cheaper.
What this estimate leaves out
- Unmetered (flat-rate or frontage) accounts, which are billed on building size, units and fixtures.
- Credits such as the Home Water Assistance Program (up to $196 in FY2027 for eligible homeowners, including some SCHE, DHE and veterans exemption recipients).
- Late payment charges, stormwater charges that apply to some properties, and special rates for commercial uses.
Budget them with the home maintenance budget calculator and the NYC property tax estimator, or read NYC water and sewer bills for homeowners.