Are you sprinkling?

In the spring and summer months, many people increase water usage to water lawns and fill swimming pools. In January, 2013 the City of Albert Lea adopted a conservation rate schedule to comply with Minnesota State Statute. This structure encourages residents to minimize water usage. As part of this effort, the City will no longer bill sewer usage based on winter averaging. All water consumed will be billed for sewer consumption.

An option to consider for lawn or landscape irrigation is to purchase and install a separate water meter, which would not be billed for sewer usage.

Items to Consider:

• Cost to purchase a second meter (see fee schedule)
• You will need to hire a plumbing company to install the meter at your cost
• A base fee for a 5/8″ meter or a 3/4″ meter (see fee schedule) will be charged for the second meter in addition to the normal usage fees
• Meters will not be pulled at the end of the summer

If you have any questions or are interested in a separate water meter, please contact our Utility Billing department at 507-377-4300.

Please remember that water is a valuable resource and let’s do our best to conserve.