Celina currently caps wastewater usage for residential customers at 11,000 gallons per month. This is a common means of charging for wastewater service, especially for smaller cities. Usage caps are common, and are easy to understand and implement. However, winter averages are not always effective in warm climates like North Texas. If a resident waters his or her lawn in the winter months, they pay sewer charges even under a winter average system.
In future years, Celina may consider the adoption of a winter average rate however, to do so now would result in substantial increases to low volume and low income customers. This is because there are fewer billing units charged under a winter average system, so the per 1,000 gallon charge must be higher in this scenario. As Celina gradually reduces the cap, the City will approach a point in the future where the adoption of a winter average will not result in as significant an increase in the lower volume customers. The Council may consider a winter average at that time.