Oak Ridge water and sewer rates

Who supplies water to Oak Ridge houses, what it costs, and how the sewer charge works.

City of Oak Ridge Water System

City of Oak Ridge, billed monthly (Ordinance 9-2023, effective with the October 2023 water billings): a minimum monthly bill by meter size that includes the first 2,000 gallons, then $7.95, $7.24 and $5.91 per 1,000 gallons in blocks

Use a month	Price per 1,000 gallons
Fixed charge	$19.17 a month
0 to 2 thousand gallons	$0.00
2 to 10 thousand gallons	$7.95
10 to 50 thousand gallons	$7.24
50 to more	$5.91

Source: Surface water from Melton Hill Lake; TDEC rates the source as reasonably susceptible to potential contamination.
Lead: 2024 testing: 90th percentile 2.91 ppb against the 15 ppb action level; 1 of 30 households sampled was above the action level.
Service lines: The latest service line inventory found many properties with a service line of unknown material; the City says an unknown line does not mean you have been exposed to lead.
System: EPA records list the system as serving 41,614 people through 17,125 service connections.

Sewer

City of Oak Ridge sewer (Ordinance 11-2023, effective with the October 2024 sewer billings), billed on water meter readings: a minimum monthly bill by meter size ($28.51 for a 5/8-inch meter) that includes the first 2,000 gallons, then $11.93 per 1,000 gallons (net rates; the ordinance's gross rate is 5% higher). In the summer period (May 2 through November 1), single-family homes with water service all of the preceding winter period (November 2 through May 1) are billed for at most their highest monthly reading from that winter, and never more than 20,000 gallons a month.

Sources

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.