Customer Class Definitions
Potable Water means all water that meets State Department of Health Drinking Water Standards. For all customers, all potable water used for irrigation will be billed in accordance with the primary usage of the property. Potable water customers are divided into the following classes:
Residential: Single-family residential refers to single-family and duplex residences. Multi-Unit refers to multi-unit residences including apartments, condominiums and townhouses. Low-rise constitutes up to three stories in height. High-rise constitutes higher than three stories in height.
Agricultural refers to a parcel devoted to agricultural activities. To qualify for Agricultural Quantity Charges, a customer must submit a written application to the Board of Water Supply and furnish satisfactory proof that they are engaged in agriculture on a commercial basis. Only one dwelling unit will be allowed on a meter qualifying for the agricultural quantity charges. To continue to qualify, the application must be renewed each fiscal year.
Non-Residential refers to any property not used for residential or agricultural purposes. To determine appropriate quantity charges, combinations of residential and non-residential may require separate meters for each use; e.g. separate residential and non-residential meters.
Non-Potable/Brackish
• R-1 Recycled Water
• R-1 recycled water is recycled wastewater that meets State Department of Health Reuse Guidelines.
• R-1 Golf are those customers that receive R-1 water used primarily for golf course irrigation.
• R-1 Other are those customers that receive R-1 recycled water for uses other than golf course irrigation
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) Demineralized Water is recycled wastewater that has been demineralized through reverse osmosis.
The R-1 Golf, R-1 Other and RO Customer and Quantity Charges shall not supersede existing or individually negotiated charges unless expressly identified in the contract.
Fire Meter Standby Charge: For readiness to serve, applies to services used exclusively for private fire protection purposes, including automatic fire sprinkler services connected to the alarm systems, fire hydrants, and wet standpipes. These must be protected against theft and leakage or waste of water. No connections or usage of water for other than fire-fighting and system testing purposes is allowed. In addition, for any misuse or non-fire protection related water use, such usage will be billed at twice the highest quantity charge in effect at that time. For any such misuse or leakage, the Customer shall be subject to penalty pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 3, Section 1-3.1 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. Except for misuse and non-fire protection related use as described above, there are no quantity charges associated with these services.
Continued in the next column:
Standby Charge: A Standby Charge will be negotiated by the Manager and Chief Engineer with each private water system contracting for interconnection service. Such service shall be provided only during emergency or temporary service outages with the intent to protect against interrupted water service supporting normal private system requirements. Water used shall be charged at the applicable quantity rate for each thousand gallons. Approval of activation and duration is contingent upon impacts to BWS customers’ level of service and BWS’s ability to meet Water System Standards requirements. Activation of service will require a written request submitted to the Manager and Chief Engineer at least 48 hours before service is required, unless waived by the Manager and Chief Engineer.
Water service shall be provided in accordance with Board of Water Supply Rules and Regulations Section 1-101 Availability of Water which requires that “the Department have sufficient pressure and water supply available for domestic use and fire protection and can assume new or additional service without detriment to those presently being served.”
Power Cost Adjustment: When total power, or electricity, costs to the Board of Water Supply exceed the amount used in calculating the annual Schedule of Rates and Charges, then the Quantity Charge may be increased $0.01 per 1,000 gallons for every $500,000 incremental power cost overage in the following fiscal year.
Environmental Regulations Compliance Fee Cost Adjustment: The Quantity Charge may be increased $0.01 per 1,000 gallons for each $500,000 of additional costs that the Board of Water Supply is required to incur in order to comply with any Federal or State environmental laws or regulations.
Waiver of Water System Facilities Charge for Qualified Affordable and Homeless Dwelling Units: The Board of Water Supply may waive the Water Systems Facilities Charges and new meter cost for qualified on-site affordable and homeless dwelling units, up to 500 dwelling units per year. The waivers will be granted when the building permit is submitted for approval. To qualify, the dwelling units must be certified as either affordable or homeless dwelling units by the appropriate agency of the City and County of Honolulu. Waiver of the Water System Facilities Charge will apply only to fixture units associated with the certified dwelling units. The amount of the meter waiver shall be calculated as a percentage of the number of certified dwelling units to the total number of dwelling units in the project. If the annual cap of 500 dwelling units has not been reached and a project is proposed that would qualify for more than the remaining number of dwelling units in that year, the Manager and Chief Engineer has the discretion to increase that year’s limit.
Waiver of Meter Charges for Residential Fire Sprinkler Retrofits: The Board of Water Supply may waive the new meter charges for high rise multi-unit residential fire sprinkler retrofits.
Waiver of Water System Facilities Charge for New Farmers: The Board of Water Supply may waive the Water Systems Facilities Charges and new meter cost for qualified new farmers needing a ¾- or 1-inch water meter and connecting to the BWS system for the first time. A new farmer is defined as any entity starting up a new agricultural enterprise that will be actively growing crops and/or raising livestock for food purposes, or dairy farming on a commercial basis, that does not already have a meter on the BWS system for the purpose of farming. Existing farming operations and expansion of existing operations do not qualify. The BWS will have full discretion whether what is being grown or raised is for food or other purposes. The new water meter serving the agricultural operation shall only serve the farm and up to one residence / dwelling. The entity must be a registered Hawai’i farm business and have GET license. The entity must provide a written farm irrigation plan and install a BWS-approved backflow preventer at its own cost. This program will expire when the waivers granted by BWS have reached $1 million, unless otherwise extended prior to that time. The waiver will be revoked and the installation fee and Water System Facilities Charge will become immediately due and payable if: (a) commercial agricultural operations are not maintained for at least 5 years, or (b) other violations are identified and not rectified within a specified timeline mandated by the BWS.
Meter Size
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
5/8″ or 3/4″
$13.30
$14.63
$15.95
$17.30
$18.68
$20.18
1″
$16.81
$18.49
$20.15
$21.87
$23.62
$25.50
1.5″
$19.15
$21.07
$22.96
$24.91
$26.91
$29.06
2″
$47.80
$52.57
$57.31
$62.18
$67.15
$72.52
3″
$58.91
$64.80
$70.63
$76.63
$82.76
$89.38
4″
$112.11
$123.32
$134.42
$145.85
$157.52
$170.12
6″
$199.80
$219.78
$239.56
$259.93
$280.72
$303.18
8″
$304.46
$334.90
$365.05
$396.07
$427.76
$461.98
12′
$658.38
$724.22
$789.40
$856.50
$925.02
$999.02
Fire Meter Size
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
2″ and smaller
$8.79
$9.67
$10.54
$11.43
$12.35
$13.34
3″
$11.32
$12.45
$13.57
$14.73
$15.90
$17.18
4″
$15.65
$17.22
$18.77
$20.36
$21.99
$23.75
6″
$31.28
$34.41
$37.51
$40.70
$43.95
$47.47
8″
$58.23
$64.06
$69.82
$75.76
$81.82
$88.36
Single-Family Residential
(Monthly per dwelling unit)
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
Tier 1 Essential Needs: First 2,000 gallons
$4.57
$4.69
$4.80
$4.92
$5.05
$5.17
Tier 2: 2,001 – 6,000 gallons
$5.78
$6.35
$6.92
$7.51
$8.11
$8.76
Tier 3: 6,001 – 30,000 gallons
$6.53
$7.34
$8.15
$8.98
$9.82
$10.74
Tier 4: Over 30,000 gallons
$10.95
$12.32
$13.67
$15.06
$16.48
$18.02
Multi-Unit Residential
(Monthly per dwelling unit)
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
Tier 1 Essential Needs: First 2,000 gallons
$3.86
$3.96
$4.06
$4.16
$4.27
$4.37
Tier 2: 2,001 – 4,000 gallons
$4.87
$5.36
$5.84
$6.34
$6.85
$7.39
Tier 3: 4,001 – 10,000 gallons
$5.70
$6.52
$7.33
$8.16
$9.01
$9.93
Tier 4: Over 10,000 gallons
$7.21
$8.25
$9.27
$10.33
$11.40
$12.57
Non-Residential
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
All Usage
$5.80
$6.38
$6.95
$7.54
$8.14
$8.80
Agricultural (Monthly per account)
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
Tier 1 Essential Needs: First 2,000 gallons
$4.57
$4.69
$4.80
$4.92
$5.05
$5.17
Tier 2: 2,001 – 6,000 gallons
$5.78
$6.35
$6.92
$7.51
$8.11
$8.76
Tier 3: Over 6,000 gallons
$2.33
$2.57
$2.81
$3.05
$3.29
$3.56
Non-Potable/Brackish
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
All Usage
$3.19
$3.51
$3.82
$4.15
$4.48
$4.84
Recycled Water R-1 Golf
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
All Usage
$0.72
$0.79
$0.86
$0.93
$1.00
$1.08
Recycled Water R-1 Other
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
All Usage
$2.16
$2.37
$2.59
$2.80
$3.03
$3.27
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
February 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
All Usage
$7.00
$7.70
$8.39
$9.10
$9.83
$10.62
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
630 S. Beretania St. • Honolulu, HI 96843
(808) 748-5041 • contactus@hbws.org
www.boardofwatersupply.com/waterrates
Quantity Charge: In addition to the Customer Charge, there is a charge for all water use rounded down to the nearest 1,000 gallons (k-gal), effective as follows:
Fire Meter Standby Charge: For those receiving private fire service, there is an additional fire meter standby charge billed monthly based on the size of the fire meter effective as follows:
Customer Charge: There is a charge for each month service is provided based on the meter size, effective as follows:
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY, CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, will hold a PUBLIC HEARING in the Board Room, Public Service Building, 630 South Berertania Street, Honolulu, HI 96843, on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., or soon thereafter, where all interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity of being heard on the adoption of the Proposed Amendment to the Schedule of Rates and Charges of the Board of Water Supply for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 through 2029, Effective February 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029 to Remain in Effect Until Superseded by a Revision to the Schedule of Rates and Charges.
Limited seating will be available in the Board Room for testifiers or those wishing to attend the meeting in person. The public may also view the livestream of the meeting online at www.boardofwatersupply.com/live.
TESTIMONY MAY BE SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS:
Written testimony should include the submitter’s address, email address, and phone number. Testimony must be received by Monday, November 27, 2023, at noon. Submit written testimony by:
• Email to board@hbws.org
• Online at boardofwatersupply.com/testimony
• Mail or hand deliver to Board of Water Supply, 630 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96843
• Fax to (808) 748-5079
Oral testimony will be accepted remotely and in person during the meeting. Pre-registration is encouraged to facilitate as much remote and in-person testimony as reasonably possible during the time allotted. Testifiers also should consider submitting a written version of their oral testimony. Testimony is limited to two (2) minutes and shall be presented by the registered speaker only. Testimony submitted in writing or orally, electronically or in person, for use in the meeting process is public information. All testimony will be included as part of the approved meeting minutes at boardofwatersupply.com/boardmeetings.
• To testify remotely using the Zoom videoconferencing platform, please submit your request by email to board@hbws.org or online at boardofwatersupply.com/testimony.
Zoom registration instructions, as well as participant guidelines, will be sent to the contact information provided. Once confirmed as registered, testifiers will receive an email containing the links and instructions to join
the Zoom session. Submit your request to testify remotely by Friday, November 24, 2023, at noon.
• To testify in person at the meeting, please pre-register by submitting your request by Monday, November 27, 2023, by email to board@hbws.org or online at boardofwatersupply.com/testimony.
In-person testifiers should check in with building security and then with testimony staff located in the lobby. Testifiers will be escorted to and from the Board Room. On-site registration will be available for walk-in requests.
MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION
Meeting materials (“board packet” under HRS Section 92-7.5) are accessible at boardofwatersupply.com/boardmeetings.
VIEWING THE MEETING
The meeting will be viewable via livestreaming on the BWS website: www.boardofwatersupply.com/live. Video will appear on screen. You may have to click the arrow on video to start it. You may have to unmute audio as muted audio tends to be the default setting.
SPECIAL REQUESTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS
If you require special assistance, an auxiliary aid or service, and/or an accommodation due to a disability to participate in this meeting (i.e., sign language interpreter; interpreter for language other than English, or wheelchair accessibility), please call (808) 748-5172 or email your request to board@hbws.org at least three business days prior to the meeting date. If a response is received less than three business days before the meeting date deadline, we will try to obtain the auxiliary aid/service or accommodation, but we cannot guarantee that request will be filled.
Upon request, this notice is available in alternate formats such as large print, Braille, or electronic copy.
BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY, CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
SCHEDULE OF RATES AND CHARGES
FOR THE FURNISHING OF WATER AND WATER SERVICE
230913 HBWS 10colx20c Rev 5.indd 1 10/16/23 4:42 PM