What is a dwelling unit?

A dwelling unit is defined as a building or portion of a building providing independent and complete living quarters including cooking, sleeping, and toilet facilities. Understanding this definition is important because it directly affects how you’re billed for water service.

Key points about dwelling units:

• Each dwelling unit typically counts as a separate unit for billing purposes
• If you have multiple dwelling units served by one service connection, your rate is multiplied by the number of units
• Examples include: individual apartments, separate living spaces in a duplex, or distinct units in a multi-family building
• To be considered a dwelling unit, it must have ALL three: cooking, sleeping, AND toilet facilities

Billing impact: For multi-family properties with one service connection serving multiple dwelling units, the monthly rate is calculated by multiplying the applicable residential rate by the number of dwelling units. For example, if you have a duplex (2 dwelling units) on a single connection with flat rate service at $76.94/month, you’d be billed $153.88/month (2 × $76.94).

Tariff Reference: Section W-002 (Definitions - DWELLING UNIT), Section W-008-D