Under Pinellas County Utilities’ FY26 retail schedule, the selected water and sewer components total $81.13 at 4,000 gallons, $115.69 at 6,000 gallons, and $184.81 at 10,000 gallons in one month for the modeled account. The County’s FY26 column was rechecked September 12, 2026.
Current period, checked October 1, 2026: the County’s FY27 rates are effective October 1, 2026. The FY26 calculations below are a historical baseline, not current-rate estimates. Use LSL’s rate-change worksheet to compare the schedules at the same monthly usage and meter size. A bill covering the changeover needs the utility’s treatment of its actual service/read dates; do not assign one schedule merely from the bill’s issue date.
These are not bill quotes. They assume a single-family account with both retail water and sewer service and the listed 3/4-inch water-meter base charge. They exclude taxes, deposits, penalties, adjustments, reclaimed-water service, and every account item outside the cited rows.
The rate inputs
The FY26 column in the County’s rate-change table supplies these monthly retail components:
| Component | Published monthly rate used here |
|---|---|
| Water base, 3/4-inch meter | $10.55 |
| Water usage through 4,000 gallons | $4.05 per 1,000 gallons |
| Water usage above 4,000 gallons | $9.21 per 1,000 gallons |
| Sewer base | $22.10 |
| Sewer usage | $8.07 per 1,000 gallons |
The County’s rate page states a 10,000-gallon monthly single-family sewer cap and displays FY27 values effective October 1, 2026. For the same modeled account, FY27 uses an $11.80 water base, $4.19 per 1,000 gallons through 4,000 and $9.51 above that threshold, plus a $22.98 sewer base and $8.39 per 1,000 gallons up to the cap.
Applying those inputs separately gives $85.10 at 4,000 gallons, $120.90 at 6,000, and $192.50 at 10,000 in one month. These are LSL’s selected-component calculations, not amounts quoted by the County for a customer’s bill. The County comparison columns preserve both sets of inputs; the worksheet shows their formulas. Separate user-fee changes described as pending approval are not included.
The water tier matters. At 6,000 gallons, the first 4,000 gallons use the lower rate and only the next 2,000 use the higher rate. Applying $9.21 to all 6,000 would not reproduce the published tier structure.
Three reproducible monthly examples
| Monthly usage | Water calculation | Sewer calculation | Selected component total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 gallons | $10.55 + (4 × $4.05) = $26.75 | $22.10 + (4 × $8.07) = $54.38 | $81.13 |
| 6,000 gallons | $10.55 + (4 × $4.05) + (2 × $9.21) = $45.17 | $22.10 + (6 × $8.07) = $70.52 | $115.69 |
| 10,000 gallons | $10.55 + (4 × $4.05) + (6 × $9.21) = $82.01 | $22.10 + (10 × $8.07) = $102.80 | $184.81 |
The 10,000-gallon example reaches the published single-family sewer cap; it does not model consumption above the cap.
Monthly rates on a two-month bill
Pinellas publishes the inputs by month and says retail accounts are normally billed every two months. A planning example must therefore calculate each month independently. If usage were exactly the same in both months, doubling the monthly results would produce:
| Usage in each month | Two-month selected-component example |
|---|---|
| 4,000 gallons per month | $162.26 |
| 6,000 gallons per month | $231.38 |
| 10,000 gallons per month | $369.62 |
Those figures do not treat 8,000, 12,000, or 20,000 gallons as one monthly tier calculation. Real meter reads can differ between the two months, and an actual statement can contain other charges or adjustments.
Check whether the model fits the account
Before comparing one of these numbers with a statement, verify:
- Pinellas County Utilities—not a municipal or other provider—serves the address.
- The account has both the retail water and sewer services modeled here.
- The water-meter size is 3/4 inch.
- The bill’s read dates and usage quantities are separated correctly by month.
- Every additional line, credit, adjustment, tax, prior balance, or penalty is kept outside this limited calculation.
A Clearwater, St. Petersburg, wholesale, reclaimed-water, irrigation-only, or differently metered account needs its own operative schedule.
Source and methodology
Local Service Ledger originally reviewed the two County pages on August 11, 2026 and rechecked their rate-period distinction and the FY26 arithmetic September 12. On October 1 we reread the current retail rates and both comparison columns and independently reproduced the FY27 totals. We applied the lower water rate to the first four 1,000-gallon units, the upper rate only to later units, and the sewer rate to the modeled quantity up to the published cap. We added base charges after usage and doubled completed monthly examples only for the constant-usage two-month view. We did not inspect a customer bill, determine an account’s classification or establish changeover proration.