Questions & Answers

What Is a Starting Water Allowance?

Every household begins with a starting water allowance. Water used within this allowance is billed at the regular rate.

Once the starting water allowance is used, additional water is billed at higher rates. This pricing system is designed to encourage responsible water conservation.

Why does household size matter in water billing?

Households come in many different sizes, but under the current pricing system, every household begins with the same starting water allowance.

As more people share one home, everyday water use naturally increases for cooking, bathing, laundry, and cleaning. Larger households can therefore reach higher rates sooner through normal daily use—not because they are wasting water.

What exactly is this proposal?

This proposal would provide participating households with an adjusted starting water allowance based on the number of permanent household members living in the home.

Higher rates for higher water use would remain in place and would continue to encourage responsible water conservation.

Would participation be optional?

Yes. Participation would be entirely optional.

Households that choose not to participate would keep their current starting water allowance and would not need to apply or provide household information.

The proposal would provide an additional option for eligible households—not replace the current pricing system.

Who can participate?

This proposal is intended for households that choose to participate and meet the eligibility rules established for the program.

The PSC and utilities would determine the exact eligibility requirements for New York.

How would household size be verified?

Households that choose to participate would be able to request an adjustment through a secure online process and provide reasonable proof of how many permanent residents live in the home.

Once approved, participating households would receive an adjusted starting water allowance before higher rates apply.

Households that do not participate would continue under the current system and would not need to provide household information.

How is privacy protected?

Applicants would only be asked to provide the information needed to confirm household size.

Applications would be submitted through a secure online process. Customer information would be used only to review and administer the household-size adjustment.

Appropriate human review would help ensure accuracy while protecting customer privacy. The PSC and utilities would establish the exact application, documentation, privacy, and renewal rules for New York.

Would higher rates still encourage water conservation?

Yes. Higher rates for higher water use would remain in place.

Once a participating household uses its adjusted starting water allowance, any additional water would continue to be billed at the higher rates.

Those higher rates would continue to encourage responsible water conservation.

Would smaller households end up paying more?

No. This proposal does not call for raising water rates for smaller households.

Households that do not participate would keep their current starting water allowance.

The proposal would adjust only the starting allowance for approved participating households. Higher rates would still apply when any household uses water beyond its allowance.

Has this type of system been used elsewhere?

Yes. Comparable water utilities already use household-size adjustments while keeping higher conservation rates in place.

The exact rules differ, but these utilities use applications and staff review to provide approved households with an adjusted starting water allowance based on household occupancy.

These programs are practical examples, not rules that New York would automatically copy. Examples and supporting research are available on the Research page.

Would this significantly increase utility administrative costs?

Modern online systems can help reduce paperwork, simplify application processing, and minimize the amount of manual administrative work required.

With appropriate human review, this proposal is intended to build on technology and administrative practices already used by comparable utilities, helping keep administrative costs practical without relying on large increases in staffing.