Madison, WI 2026 Commercial Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Rates
Madison’s 2026 municipal bill separates water class, meter, sewer, stormwater, and urban-forestry charges. See bill checks and a bounded model.
Direct answer
Madison’s current-rate page identifies May 1, 2026 water, sewer, and stormwater schedules. The commercial water class is $5.98 per 1,000 gallons with a $66.60 monthly two-inch service charge; standard sewer is $5.644 per 1,000 gallons with a $105.47 two-inch demand charge. For one declared standard account, 100 to 80 kGal changes the included total from $1,334.47 to $1,101.99—a $232.48 modeled difference—while $172.07 in fixed charges stays unchanged. Stormwater, forestry, restaurant or monitored-strength treatment, taxes, and other lines are excluded.
$5.98
Commercial water
Per 1,000 gallons
$5.644
Standard sewer
Per 1,000 gallons of wastewater
$172.07
Two-inch fixed
Water service plus sewer demand
$232.48
Modeled difference
Included lines at 100 → 80 kGal
Account and bill-line map
Choose the Madison class and sewer path before calculating
Madison’s municipal-services bill can combine PSC-regulated water, sanitary sewer, parcel-area stormwater, and urban forestry. The declared model uses commercial water and standard sanitary sewer only.
| Account or bill fact | 2026 treatment |
|---|---|
| Commercial water with a two-inch meter | The volume rate is $5.98/kGal and the monthly water service charge is $66.60. Commercial covers businesses and nongovernmental institutions providing goods or services. |
| Different water class | Multifamily is $4.70/kGal, industrial is $6.14/kGal, and public authority is $6.63/kGal. The same two-inch service charge appears in those schedules. |
| Standard sanitary sewer | The volume rate is $5.644/kGal and the monthly two-inch sewer demand charge is $105.47. Confirm the billed wastewater basis. |
| Water-use-only or restaurant treatment | The sewer schedule lists an $8.33 two-inch demand charge for meters measuring water use only; restaurant tiers are $7.225, $8.805, and $12.417/kGal, with a separate $10 multi-use monthly line when not separately metered. |
| Monitored effluent | The schedule uses separate volume, CBOD, suspended-solids, TKN, and phosphorus rates for customers that elect or are required to monitor effluent. |
| Stormwater | Each parcel has a $3.05 monthly base plus $0.275 per 1,000 square feet of pervious area and $3.592 per 1,000 square feet of impervious area. |
| Urban forestry | The 2026 schedule lists $23.00 monthly for commercial/industrial and $14.10 for multifamily. This fixed parcel/customer line is outside the usage model. |
Official source status
The current page supplies the date; the linked schedules supply the values
Madison Water Utility’s current-rates page identifies the current water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater schedules as effective May 1, 2026 and links the controlling documents. The water rate file contains PSC authorization 3280-WR-117 and the class and meter tables used here.
The downloadable water file still prints “=TBD=” in its effective field. This article does not treat that unresolved field as a date: May 1 comes from the City’s current-rates page, while the PDF supports the numeric water values. The sewer, stormwater, and forestry figures come from their separately linked 2026 schedules.
Water classification
Commercial, multifamily, industrial, and public-authority rates are not interchangeable
The commercial class includes businesses and nongovernmental institutions that provide goods or services, including churches and parochial schools. Its volume rate is $5.98/kGal. Multifamily, industrial, and public-authority classes have different volume rates even though the two-inch service charge is $66.60 in each listed schedule.
A mixed campus, master-metered residential property, manufacturer, public school, church, or business should verify the exact PSC class on the account. Multiple meters used to identify water not discharged to sanitary sewer also require attention because the water schedule says those readings are not automatically combined for billing.
Sanitary sewer fork
Standard volume is only the starting sewer path
The 2026 sanitary schedule lists standard wastewater volume at $5.644/kGal and monthly demand charges by meter size, including $105.47 for a two-inch meter. It separately lists lower demand charges for meters that measure water use only, plus restaurant tiers and a $10 monthly multi-use line when service is not separately metered.
Customers that elect or are required to monitor effluent use a separate schedule with volume and CBOD, suspended-solids, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total-phosphorus rates. Restaurants, food production, laundries, healthcare, industrial operations, and other wastewater-intensive sites should confirm the controlling sewer class before applying the standard model.
Property-based charges
Stormwater and urban forestry do not follow monthly metered volume
Madison’s 2026 stormwater schedule combines a $3.05 parcel base with pervious-area and impervious-area charges. The impervious component is $3.592 per 1,000 square feet per month and the pervious component is $0.275 per 1,000 square feet per month.
The separate 2026 urban-forestry schedule lists $23.00 monthly for commercial/industrial customers and $14.10 for multifamily. Neither parcel-area stormwater nor the fixed forestry amount belongs in a metered-water savings base.
Commercial implication
One municipal bill can contain four different cost drivers
Before forecasting, record the water class and meter, sanitary-sewer demand and treatment path, parcel areas, urban-forestry class, and any resource-recovery, landfill, tax, adjustment, or other municipal-service line. A blended dollars-per-gallon shortcut hides which costs can actually move.
The declared calculation below is Smart Valve analysis for one commercial water account and standard sewer account. It assumes billed sewer volume moves with water volume; it does not represent restaurant, monitored-strength, multifamily, industrial, public-authority, or water-use-only treatment.
Smart Valve analysis — declared standard account
One two-inch commercial account at 100 versus 80 kGal
Assume one monthly commercial water account uses a two-inch meter and standard sanitary sewer, and billed sewer volume equals billed water volume. Include only water service and volume plus sewer demand and volume.
Scroll the table horizontally to compare all columns.
| Included line | 100 kGal | 80 kGal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water: $66.60 service + $5.98/kGal | $664.60 | $545.00 | $119.60 |
| Sewer: $105.47 demand + $5.644/kGal | $669.87 | $556.99 | $112.88 |
| Included water + sewer total | $1,334.47 | $1,101.99 | $232.48 |
The $232.48 modeled difference comes from 20 fewer kGal on the two included volume lines. The combined $172.07 water-service and sewer-demand charges stay unchanged. Stormwater, forestry, restaurant or monitored treatment, resource recovery, landfill, taxes, adjustments, and other fees remain outside the calculation.
20% usage check
$232.48
Modeled monthly difference at 20% lower included volume
The declared change is 20 kGal multiplied by $5.98/kGal for commercial water and $5.644/kGal for standard sewer. The included total moves from $1,334.47 to $1,101.99 while both fixed charges remain.
Boundary: This assumes billed standard-sewer volume follows billed water volume. It excludes parcel-area, forestry, restaurant, monitored-strength, resource-recovery, landfill, tax, adjustment, and other account lines and does not promise a property-specific result.
Decision checklist
What to check first on the bill
- 1Confirm the water account is commercial rather than multifamily, industrial, public authority, duplex, or another PSC class.
- 2Record every water meter size and monthly service charge, including separate meters that identify water not discharged to sewer.
- 3Match the sanitary-sewer demand charge and billed volume to standard, water-use-only, restaurant, multi-use, or monitored treatment.
- 4Verify parcel pervious and impervious square footage before reproducing the stormwater lines.
- 5Keep the urban-forestry charge and any resource-recovery, landfill, tax, or other fixed municipal line outside the usage model.
- 6Compare like billing periods and confirm whether billed sewer volume actually follows water before testing a reduction scenario.
Scope boundary
Where Smart Valve realistically fits
Smart Valve may help a Madison property team evaluate controllable metered volume after the PSC water class, meters, pressure conditions, operating uses, sewer treatment, billing period, and actual municipal-service lines are confirmed.
Smart Valve does not change Madison’s water class, meter service charge, sewer demand or strength rules, stormwater parcel area, forestry charge, tax, or other fixed and account-specific line. The model is reproducible analysis, not a savings guarantee.
Related commercial water decisions
Track Midwest commercial utility decisions
Follow adopted water, sewer, meter, industrial-class, and stormwater changes across the region.
Compare St. Louis bill drivers
See another Midwest market where water, sewer, strength, and impervious-area lines require separate treatment.
Review the restaurant water-cost decision path
Connect kitchen and cleaning uses to Madison’s restaurant-specific sewer treatment and the actual account.
Separate every Madison bill line
Distinguish service, volume, sewer, stormwater, forestry, tax, and adjustment charges.
Use the calculator as a general screening tool
It does not reproduce Madison’s current PSC water, sewer, stormwater, or forestry schedules.
Review source and estimate boundaries
See how official facts, calculations, assumptions, and exclusions are separated.
Frequently asked questions
What is Madison’s 2026 commercial water rate?
The current commercial schedule lists $5.98 per 1,000 gallons plus a monthly service charge by meter size. A two-inch meter is $66.60. The City’s current page identifies the schedule as effective May 1, 2026.
What is Madison’s standard sanitary-sewer rate in 2026?
The 2026 sanitary schedule lists $5.644 per 1,000 gallons plus a monthly demand charge by meter size, including $105.47 for a two-inch meter. Restaurant, monitored-effluent, and water-use-only paths differ.
Does lower water use reduce Madison’s stormwater or urban-forestry charges?
Not under the reviewed schedules. Stormwater uses a parcel base plus pervious and impervious area, while urban forestry uses a monthly customer-class charge. Both stay outside the declared usage model.
Why does Madison’s water PDF show “=TBD=” as its effective date?
The linked rate file retains “=TBD=” in its effective field, so this article does not derive the date from that PDF. The City’s current-rates page supplies May 1, 2026, while the PDF supplies the class and meter values.
Primary source trail
Sources and retrieval details
Effective: May 1, 2026 for current water, sewer, and stormwater schedulesStatus checked: July 22, 2026Retrieved: July 22, 2026
Primary current-status page linking the exact water, sanitary-sewer, stormwater, and urban-forestry schedules. It supplies current effective-status context used in this article.
Source URL: https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/billing-rates/view-current-rates-fees
Status checked: July 22, 2026Retrieved: July 22, 2026
Primary schedule for water customer classes, monthly meter-size service charges, commercial volume, and combined-metering rules. Its printed effective field remains “=TBD=”; the current page supplies the May 1 date.
Published: 2026 rate scheduleRetrieved: July 22, 2026
Primary schedule for standard volume and demand charges, water-use-only meters, restaurant tiers, multi-use treatment, and monitored-effluent factors.
Source URL: https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2026%20Sanitary%20Rate%20Schedule.pdf
Published: 2026 rate scheduleRetrieved: July 22, 2026
Primary schedule for the parcel base plus pervious-area and impervious-area monthly rates.
Source URL: https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2026%20Stormwater%20Rate%20Schedule.pdf
Published: 2026 scheduleRetrieved: July 22, 2026
Primary schedule for monthly and annual urban-forestry charges by customer type, including commercial/industrial and multifamily.
Classify the Madison account before modeling a reduction
Start with water class and meter, sewer demand and treatment, parcel areas, forestry class, billed volumes, and every other municipal line. Keep the $232.48 example bounded to the declared standard account.