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How we calculated this

Read by an AI agent (a large language model) from the utility's official rate schedule.

Extracted by: Luna (gpt-6-luna) · 10/02/2026
Source:
Service charge (5/8” meter): $5.15/mo
Water used, 6,000 gal, summer season: $24.39/mo
Total: $29.53/mo

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Utility profile · MD

HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION Water Rates

HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION supplies water to about 290,000 people in Columbia, Ellicott City, and 6 other places in Maryland. A typical household using 6,000 gallons a month pays an estimated $29.53, 49% below the national average.

Rates effective 2026-07-01

Updated Oct 2026

How much does water cost provided by HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION?

Monthly Rate

$29.53 / month
Read by AI from the official rate schedule

How the bill adds up

Service charge
5/8” meter
$5.15
Water used
24.06 ccf × $3.04/ccf ÷ 3 (billed every 3 months)
$24.39
Total $29.53

How does HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION's water cost compare to its regional neighbors?

Monthly cost (6k gal) vs up to 10 nearest utilities with published rates. Click to navigate.

Where does HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION provide service?

Population served and the municipalities covered by this utility's service area.

Boundaries from the EPA Water System Service Areas dataset. Not all utilities have mapped boundaries.

Population Served

286,158

Where does HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION's water come from?

Supply and provider classification from EPA records.

Primary Source
SWP
Provider Type
Local Govt
PWSID
MD0130002

Named intake/well source and interconnections (who this utility buys from or sells to) aren't captured yet — tracked separately for a future update.

Is water affordable for HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION's customers?

Annual bill as a share of median household income in the service area.

Water Burden

0.2% of income (annual)
of median area income · affordability threshold: 2%

We don't yet systematically track whether a utility offers income-based or sliding-scale pricing separate from its standard rates — tracked separately for a future update.

Where did this data come from?

This rate was extracted from HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION's published tariff document by an AI research agent, then checked against a validation checklist before publishing. See the full methodology for how every utility on this site is sourced and scored.

Provenance

Extracted by: Luna (gpt-6-luna) · 10/02/2026
Confidence label: Model estimate

Spot an error, or have a newer rate schedule?