Most Bellevue homes on city utilities pay the same flat residential charge of $36.80 a month for water and $93.75 for sewer, or $130.55 in total, according to the City of Bellevue's water and sewer page as of mid-October 2026. A seller's last twelve months of bills will show that number, and so will a buyer's spreadsheet. Neither shows the per-gallon overage charges the city lists for metered accounts. The city's rate history includes an overage rate for water and a separate one for sewer. The sewer resolution council considered in October spells out how the sewer overage would work. A base fee covers the first 6,500 gallons of water a month, and each additional 1,000 gallons is charged again on the sewer line.
When a carrying cost moves, it changes what a property is worth to whoever owns it next. For an in-town Bellevue lot with a large lawn on city water, the metering switch is the biggest change coming to the bill. The rate increases and bond payments behind it add to that.
The 6,500-gallon line, counted twice
The rate history in the city council's October 26, 2026 meeting packet lists the overage charges. Since December 1, 2024, the water overage has been $1.14 and the sewer overage $0.88 per 1,000 gallons. The pending proposal would raise them to $1.19 and $0.91. According to the Idaho Mountain Express, metered water customers pay more than the base rate only above 6,500 gallons a month. The draft sewer resolution sets the same 6,500-gallon threshold for sewer and bases the sewer overage on "water consumption." Water that goes on a lawn and never reaches a drain is still billed through the sewer line.
Combined, each 1,000 gallons over the threshold costs $2.02 under the current tariff and $2.10 under the proposal. About 44 cents of each overage dollar goes to sewer.
The table runs the published rates at three monthly usage levels. The usage levels are examples, not measured Bellevue averages. In both columns, the 6,500-gallon threshold applies to the water and sewer lines alike, as it does in the draft sewer resolution.
| Monthly water use, illustrative | Current rates, effective Dec. 1, 2024 | Proposed tariff, $38.63 water / $98.42 sewer |
|---|---|---|
| 6,500 gallons or less | $130.55 | $137.05 |
| 15,000 gallons | $147.72 | $154.91 |
| 30,000 gallons | $178.02 | $186.41 |
At the low end, the meter changes nothing. Speaking to the Idaho Mountain Express, Public Works Director Chris Johnson described the goal this way:
"You'll be paying for what you use. If you are a couple or a single resident, you'll pay for what you use versus paying a flat rate that is the same as the family of six across the street."
The same article reported his remark that metering could raise bills for those who "leave their sprinklers on at all times," and it named summer irrigation as the use the system was designed to measure. The flat rate has been spreading irrigation costs across every account. Metering moves those costs onto the parcels that do the watering, so a buyer comparing a small-yard bungalow with a lot that has a large lawn is comparing two different utility budgets, even if the sellers' bills look the same.
A meter switch that could land during an escrow
Bellevue installed meters and meter vaults in 2015. More than ten years later, residential accounts are still billed at the flat rate. The Express reported that by mid-December crews could take remote readings on all 1,096 meters, but 132 residential meters were reading zero. City records also matched only 610 meters to the correct address and account, which left more than 400 to verify by visual inspection. Johnson wanted to begin metered billing in spring 2026 if 75% to 80% of accounts could be billed correctly, with the rest staying on the flat rate.
The spring target slipped. The city's FY2027 budget report, adopted August 24, 2026, now expects the final phase of meter readings and usage data in early FY2027, a fiscal year that started October 1, 2026.
So the change could arrive during an escrow, or a few months after closing. The draft sewer resolution, Resolution 26-39 in the October 26 council packet, also covers who maintains the meter. It states that each metered user is responsible, "at the user's sole expense," for keeping the meter in good repair, and that a meter not reading properly is billed at the flat rate. Under that language, keeping the meter working falls to whoever holds the account. Whether a meter is assigned to the right address is a records question for the city, and the answer is best in hand before closing.
Sewer is most of the bill, and its costs are the least settled
At current rates, sewer is $93.75 of the $130.55 flat bill, about 72%. The sewer side is also where the city's costs are least certain.
The Idaho Mountain Express reported in September that Bellevue's $9.5 million membrane bioreactor treatment plant was switched on in early September 2026. It was the first time since a March 2023 failure that flooded the pump room with waste 20 feet deep. New membrane filters cost the city about $700,000. Even so, the plant was running eight hours a day and relying mainly on backup lagoons. A primary circulation motor had failed after startup, a mixer needed replacing, and the department reported that it lacked the staff to run the plant continuously. The Express also reported that the facility needs two people on site 24 hours a day, that a used sludge truck would cost an estimated $30,000 to $50,000, and that the city was looking for qualified operators or a contract company to help bring the plant back into compliance with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Councilwoman Suzanne Wrede called for an operational and financial audit.
The FY2027 budget calls for a 4.99% sewer increase, written up as Resolution 26-39: $98.42 a month, plus $0.91 per 1,000 gallons over 6,500, with a proposed effective date of November 1, 2026. Council continued the item from October 13 to its October 26 meeting. The public works memo gave council two options. One was to approve the increase. The other was to table it "until the required rate to fully support wastewater operations, including contracted plant operation can be determined." Whichever option council took, the staff memo itself raised the possibility that 4.99% would not cover the full cost of running the plant. The outcome will appear in the city's posted minutes.
The rate history suggests what to expect. Sewer has gone from $35.00 a month in 2005 to $93.75 in 2024, with increases between 3% and 5% in each step since 2012. The 2008 and 2009 resolutions raised it by 28.57% and 35.56%. A city facing a plant that needs a contract operator has done larger steps before.
Bond repayment now runs through the utility bill
The water side has its own new cost. In the May 2024 primary, Bellevue voters approved a water revenue bond 320 to 141. The Idaho Mountain Express reported that the bond limit was $7 million, within a funding package that included a $6.3 million DEQ loan and a $3.3 million grant. The city's budget describes the work as a $10 million Water Improvement Project, which it calls Seamon's Spring, with construction set to begin next spring.
Earlier Express coverage described the plan:
- A new spring collection system and a transmission line of roughly 16,000 feet from Seamans Creek at EE-DA-HO Ranch.
- A leak-detection survey.
- Replacement of an undersized 1,250-foot water main on Main Street.
The stated reason concerns water rights. The spring holds the city's senior rights, and its municipal wells hold junior rights that can be curtailed in dry periods. Ratepayers are paying to keep their supply secure.
Repayment shows up as new budget lines. FY2027 adds a Water Bond Fee projected to bring in $191,000, compared with $525,236 in water user fees. The sewer fund budgets a $410,400 Bond Debt Fee against $903,657 in sewer user fees. Bond fees are budgeted at roughly a third of water user-fee revenue and nearly half of sewer user-fee revenue. The city has not published how those totals will be split per account. The budget says only that the city "is evaluating the rate structure to accommodate the repayment of bond funds" and "anticipates a transition" to tiered rates. Council's July 20, 2026 work session discussed flat, metered and tiered sewer billing, along with a proposed tiered water system. If tiers arrive, the per-gallon price for heavy summer use would rise beyond the overage rates shown in the table above.
Five questions for the seller and the city before you close
- Is the property on city water and sewer, and does any outdoor irrigation draw from the city system?
- Is there a meter vault, and does city billing match the meter, transmitter and account to this address?
- Is the account billed at the flat rate or a metered rate today? Commercial and mixed-use buyers should note that some businesses are already metered.
- Did council adopt Resolution 26-39 on October 26, and has a water increase followed it?
- Has the city published a per-account Water Bond Fee or a tiered schedule since the FY2027 budget?
Everything here is general information drawn from public city records and local reporting. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm the terms that apply to a specific property with the City of Bellevue and your own advisors.
FAQ
Does metering raise every Bellevue bill? No. As the Idaho Mountain Express described the water side, a metered account pays more than the base rate only above 6,500 gallons a month, and the draft sewer resolution uses the same threshold.
Why would sewer charges rise with lawn watering? The draft sewer resolution bases its overage on water consumption above 6,500 gallons, and the meter measures all water use, indoor and outdoor.
When does construction on the spring project start? The FY2027 budget says construction is set to begin next spring, which means spring 2027.
If you are weighing a Bellevue property, or preparing to sell one, let's go through the utility history, the meter status and the pending rate decisions together, so the carrying cost in your plan matches what the city will actually bill. Dawn Sabo offers a complimentary market consultation and home valuation that includes this kind of line-by-line cost review.
