Oceanside water and sewer rates
Who supplies water to Oceanside houses, what it costs, and how the sewer charge works.
City of Oceanside Water Utilities
City of Oceanside single-family residential rates effective January 2026; the meter is read each month and one unit is 748 gallons (100 cubic feet, HCF). The first 13 units are charged at the first tier and any additional units at the second tier, and the SDCWA surcharge and Watershed Protection charge are added for each unit of water used.
| Use a month | Price per unit (CCF, 748 gallons) |
|---|---|
| Fixed charge | $26.84 a month |
| 0 to 13 units | $7.69 |
| 13 to more | $8.47 |
- Source
- Roughly 72% of Oceanside's water supply begins as snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains; about 18% of its drinking water is purchased fully treated, and the final 10% is sourced locally from the Mission Basin aquifer.
- Hardness
- Total hardness averaged 226 mg/L in the surface water and 244 mg/L in the groundwater (13.2 and 14.2 grains per gallon), 2025 report.
- Lead
- In 2024, lead samples from 50 private homes found one detection, under the action level, and no lead in the water entering the distribution system.
Sewer
Sewer is a flat monthly amount for the year: a $21.11 residential service fee, a $7.89 wastewater customer charge and a flow charge set each July from your Winter Quarter Average (WQA): your average monthly water use over the January-March bills times 95%. Flow charge by WQA: up to 4 units $20.95; 4.01-5 $26.19; 5.01-6 $31.42; 6.01-7 $36.65; 7.01-8 $41.89; 8.01-9 $47.12; 9.01-10 $52.36; 10.01-11 $57.59; over 11 $62.83. Find your WQA from your January-March bills and use your bracket's flow charge.
Other charges on the utility bill
- City Waste fee (public street): $5.47 a month
Ways to pay less
- Turf replacement rebate. Residential rebates through the SoCal Water$mart program include up to $3 per square foot for turf replacement, plus rebates on weather-based irrigation controllers, rotating sprinkler nozzles and rain barrels. How: See the rebate list on the City's Rebates, Programs and Incentives page and the SoCal Water$mart website.
Pay or manage it
Sources
- City of Oceanside 2026 single-family residential water, wastewater and City Waste rates
- City of Oceanside: water, wastewater and City Waste rates
- City of Oceanside 2025 Water and Wastewater Rate Study
- City of Oceanside 2025 Water Quality Report
- City of Oceanside: water rebates, programs and incentives
Checked October 21, 2026. Every number here comes from the public sources listed, matched by our checker.
Rates change every year; this page shows when it was last checked. Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.