Retail water use in the District fell by an average of 0.7% a year from FY 2016 to FY 2025, according to DC Water's FY 2027 Approved Budget. Over the same years the average monthly residential bill rose from US$88.99 to US$135.55, an increase of 52.3%.
Who is cutting back
The decline is not even. Single-family homes cut use by an average of 1.9% a year, and commercial and federal customers by 1.0% a year each. Multi-family buildings went the other way, rising 0.7% a year.
Pumped is not billed
In FY 2025 DC Water pumped 36,758 million gallons of treated water and billed 24,691 million, or 67.17%. In FY 2016 the billed share was 72.40%. The water itself comes from the Washington Aqueduct, which withdraws about 140 million gallons a day from the Potomac, and the FY 2027 budget sets aside US$54.5 million for water purchases.
Bills keep climbing
The Board approved new rates on September 3, 2026. With them, DC Water published an average residential bill of US$155.88 a month for FY 2027 and US$164.15 for FY 2028, against US$147.16 in FY 2026. The earlier proposal had estimated US$156.80 and US$165.07.
Who gets help
The Customer Assistance Program has four tiers, from CAP+ at about US$131 a month to CAP3 at about US$18, with FY 2026 single-household income limits from US$20,614 to US$114,700.
How DC Water's single source, regional wastewater system and governance fit together, and where its US$9.69 billion capital plan is aimed, are set out in the full report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: DC Water, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the DC Water Utility Snapshot.