St. Petersburg Commercial Utility Rates: 2025-26 Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, and Irrigation Checks

What changed in St. Petersburg

Source-reported facts: St. Petersburg lists current utility rates effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 for water, wastewater, sanitation, stormwater, reclaimed water, and irrigation-only services.

The City says rates were updated on October 1, 2025 to fund essential water, wastewater, stormwater, sanitation, resilience, and infrastructure work.

Who may be affected

Commercial, multifamily, hotel, restaurant, healthcare, retail, industrial, office, and campus properties should review water tiers, wastewater, stormwater, sanitation, reclaimed water, and irrigation-only service separately.

The commercial water tiers are based on average use. The previous October-through-September 12-month period is used for the average, and new commercial customers use the lowest block rate until a 12-month period is completed.

Why commercial average use matters

St. Petersburg lists commercial water at $4.19 per 1,000 gallons up to average, $6.48 from average to two times average, $15.58 from two to three times average, and $24.70 over three times average.

A Tampa Bay Water cost of $2.64 per 1,000 gallons is applied to total water volume, while wastewater adds $11.00 per 1,000 gallons registered on the meter. That makes high-tier water plus sewer a serious marginal exposure.

What a 20 percent usage reduction could mean

Directional estimate: assume a St. Petersburg commercial account can reduce 50,000 gallons in a month and those gallons sit above three times the account average. A 20 percent reduction on a 250,000-gallon baseline would equal 50,000 gallons.

At $24.70 high-tier water, $2.64 Tampa Bay Water charge, and $11.00 wastewater per 1,000 gallons, those 50 thousand gallons represent about $1,917 in monthly variable exposure. Stormwater, sanitation, and fixed base charges are excluded.

What to check first on your bill

Confirm the prior 12-month average, current monthly gallons, highest water tier reached, Tampa Bay Water charge, wastewater base and volume charges, meter size, reclaimed-water service, irrigation-only service, and stormwater ERU count.

Commercial stormwater is based on impervious area ERUs, not water volume. The city lists one ERU as 2,406 square feet and the non-single-family rate as $23.24 per ERU.

Where Smart Valve fits

Smart Valve may be relevant when controllable metered volume pushes a St. Petersburg account into higher water tiers and wastewater follows the water meter. It cannot reduce ERU-based stormwater or sanitation charges.

A bill assessment should isolate water tiers, wastewater volume, stormwater ERUs, reclaimed-water service, irrigation-only service, and sanitation before estimating payback.

FAQ

Sources

• City of St. Petersburg - current utility rates effective October 1, 2025 (retrieved June 25, 2026)