Community Assessments (Rates) MWRA is a "wholesaler" to its
member communities. MWRA's charges ("community assessments ")
typically represent about 45% of the amount that communities
bill their customers. The proportion varies considerably among
communities. MWRA WATER AND SEWER RATE METHODOLOGY How MWRA sets
water and sewer assessments to for communities: In setting water
rates, MWRA first identifies through its budgeting process the
total amount of revenue that must be raised to run the water
system. Charges are calculated using a flat rate per million
gallons – $3,032.39 for FY2013 – times the metered water use by
a community in the last full calendar year. Sewer charges are
computed on a proportional allocation basis utilizing total
flow, contributing population and census population for each
community. The total amount of required revenue for the sewer
system is allocated either to operating costs or capital costs.
Operating costs are allocated to each community based on the
average of the prior three ca