By Eddie Cota

The Whittier City Council voted Tuesday to approve nearly $4.7 million in sewer fees for the city's 2026-2027 budget year, nearly all of it collected through property tax bills instead of water bills. Most property owners will barely notice their own charge, but added together, it's a large fee the city collects outside the general tax rate.

How this fee gets to you

Residents may think of sewer costs as part of their monthly water bill, but they're not. The sewer fee is a separate charge that Los Angeles County adds directly to the annual property tax bill on the city's behalf.

Because it rides along with property taxes instead of showing up as its own monthly charge, it's easy to miss. This year's fee report shows the charge will raise an estimated $4,669,365.61 through the county property tax bill. 

On top of that, the city expects to collect another $60,223.67 by billing certain customers directly, outside the property tax process, bringing the total to just under $4.73 million. The documents don't say which customers get billed this separate way or why.

How much you pay, and how it's calculated

The fee is based on how much water a property uses, not a flat citywide rate. Under the current schedule:

• Homes, and residences built by private developers, pay $1.26 for every unit of water used, up to $364.39 a year.
• Apartment and condo buildings pay the same $1.26 per unit, up to $364.39 per unit each year.
• Businesses and industrial properties pay $1.26 per unit with no yearly cap.
• Households that qualify as low income pay a lower rate, $0.70 per unit, up to $207.59 a year.
• Every property also pays a flat $11.59 service charge each year. That charge counts toward the annual caps listed above, rather than being added on top of them.

A typical household using 13 units of water a month would pay about $16.38 a month in usage charges, or roughly $196.56 a year. Add the $11.59 annual service charge, and the total comes to about $208.15 a year, well under the $364.39 residential cap.

The city's agenda report says that same typical household will pay $1.43 more a month than before, nine cents of it from the higher per-unit rate and the rest from a bump in the yearly service charge.

Where the money comes from

• Homeowners pay the largest share by far, $3.44 million.
• Apartment and condo buildings are next at $887,490.90.
• Businesses and industrial properties follow at $308,175.93.
• Low-income households contribute $16,192.20.
• Privately developed residences contribute $14,586.75.

What the money pays for

City staff say the money covers four things:

• day-to-day upkeep of the city's sewer pipes
• a state-required response plan for sewage spills (called the Overflow Response Program, required under State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2006-003-DWQ)
• the city's long-term sewer management plan
• and repair and construction projects.

The documents don't say which specific projects this year's money will pay for.

How we got here, and what happens next

Tuesday's vote didn't set the rate. The council did that back on November 12, 2024, locking in sewer fees from 2025 through 2029. Tuesday's action applied that already-approved rate to every property in the city, and the county will add the resulting charge to property tax bills.

Now that the report is approved, the city clerk will send it to Los Angeles County, and the fee will show up on property tax bills for the 2026-2027 budget year.