Irrigation and Your Bill

We've reached that part of the year where even a day or two without rain can leave your lawn crispy and brown. As a lot of our customers are using sprinkler systems to keep greenery green, water bills go up. If you are also a customer of Chattanooga Sewer or the Hamilton County WWTA, you may notice your sewer charges are on the rise, as well. Why? 

Hixson Utility is not your sewer provider. Instead, we are the billing service for both Chattanooga Sewer and the WWTA. Both sewer entities bill their customers based on the amount of water consumed. This means that every drop of water that passes through your meter, regardless of the intended use, is used to calculate your sewer bill. There are a couple of exceptions:

- Residential Chattanooga Sewer customers: If your sewer provider is the City of Chattanooga, you are automatically given a 10% discount on your sewer bill. This discount is intended to compensate you for water used that does not eventually flow into the sewer system, such as irrigation. The WWTA, for both Red Bank and other county residents, does not offer a discount. 

- Customers with irrigation meters: Customers have the option of installing a second meter that can be strictly used for irrigation purposes. The water consumed from this meter is not billed for sewer, regardless of your provider. Note that if you are a Chattanooga Sewer customer, this eliminates the 10% discount on sewer charges for your primary meter. Irrigation meters can be purchased through our office. Current fees for meter purchases can be seen here. Please be aware that any fees required for a street cut permit will also be absorbed by the customer. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for new meter installations. 

Residential Chattanooga Sewer customers that have a standard 5/8" primary meter have their sewer bill capped at 12,000 gallons monthly, or 24,000 gallons per billing cycle. Any water consumption over those amounts will not be billed for sewer. Hamilton County WWTA, including customers in the City of Red Bank, is not subject to these capped amounts; all water consumed during the billing cycle will be billed sewer charges. 

Please note, sewer rates are determined by your provider, and not Hixson Utility. If you have questions concerning sewer rates, billing, or any other sewer-related matter, please contact the provider. Contact info is as follows:

• Chattanooga Sewer: (423) 757-5026
• Hamilton County WWTA (including Red Bank): (423) 209-7842

Finally, if you would like to inquire about installing an irrigation meter on your property, please call our office at (423) 877-3513, and speak to one of our Customer Service Representatives.