When buyers compare monthly costs in The Dalles, they usually lump the water and sewer bill in with the electric bill as a small, steady number. This fall that's less true than usual. The City of The Dalles is in the middle of resetting both bills. On the sewer side, the current structure assumes a home sends about 10,000 gallons a month down the drain, while a sample of local accounts shows typical winter use is less than half that.
That gap is part of what staff and consultants bring back to City Council on Monday, Nov. 9.
The sewer bill assumes a house that uses twice the water
Residential sewer customers in The Dalles pay a flat monthly charge per dwelling unit. Your bill isn't based on what your meter reads. At a Sept. 21, 2026 council work session, financial consultant Deb Gallardi told councilors that a sample of about 3,000 residential accounts averaged about 4,500 gallons of water a month in winter. The current sewer rate structure assumes 10,000 gallons.
Winter use matters because sprinklers are off in winter, so what goes through the meter is close to what goes into the sewer. Gallardi's preliminary numbers for fiscal year 2025–26 split it this way:
| Customer class | Share of wastewater flow | Share of sewer revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | About 31% | 50% |
| Commercial | About 47% | 34% |
| Industrial | About 22% | 16% |
The minutes include her own caution that average flow alone doesn't decide each class's fair share of costs. Peak flow and how concentrated the wastewater is also drive what a treatment plant costs to build. Under the preliminary framework, 51% of facility cost factors trace to peak-flow capacity, and Gallardi said industrial use is a substantial driver of peak flow. The analysis hasn't yet measured how much of the peak each class causes. She said she expects the rate options to reflect lower residential use and a closer look at commercial and industrial impacts, which could shift the shares among classes. Councilor Dan Richardson asked the city to weigh the effect on residents when it sets industrial charges, and not treat a cost-of-service formula as the only factor. Councilors also asked to see real industrial bills, including what Google pays.
No decision was made in September.
Why the split matters more now: the total is going up
If total sewer revenue were holding steady, the split would just be a question of fairness. It isn't holding steady. Gallardi's baseline forecast assumed revenue rising 3% a year, which would give rates about $15 million for capital projects or debt over ten years. She outlined a preliminary package of about $10 million from existing reserves, $10 million in direct capital spending from rates and about $30 million in borrowing backed by rates. That comes to roughly $50 million. The inflation-adjusted ten-year capital forecast is about $92 million. Gallardi told council the 3% baseline would not be enough.
So the Nov. 9 session will cover two things: how much more money the sewer system needs, and options for dividing that larger amount among homes, businesses and industry. The return agenda lists a refined forecast, possible rate increases and phasing, customer-class rate structure options, projected bill impacts, and findings on the sanitary sewer system development charge. The draft wastewater master plan is set to come back Dec. 14 for possible adoption. If you're building, the development charge piece matters too. The equivalent dwelling unit schedule behind it hasn't been updated in more than 20 years.
The water bill has already started climbing
The water side is further along. On Jan. 26, 2026, City Council approved a 7.3% water increase and a 3% sewer increase, both effective Feb. 1, 2026. Under the current city rate sheet, an in-city home with a ¾-inch to 1½-inch meter pays a fixed $57.09 a month, which includes 7,000 gallons. Each additional 1,000 gallons costs $1.87. By that schedule, a home using 8,000 gallons pays about $58.96 a month for water. Homes outside city limits that are on city water pay 1.5 times the applicable rate. If you're looking just past the city line, that multiplier belongs in your monthly math.
The February increase was a first step. Columbia Community Connection reported in June that the city's Water Master Plan lists about $259 million in water projects over 20 years. It projects a typical 8,000-gallon household going from about $55.30 a month under the old structure to about $80.82 by 2030 and about $151.70 by 2044. Those are plan projections. Council hasn't adopted a rate schedule for future years. The biggest projects in the plan are:
- Replacing and expanding the Wicks Water Treatment Plant on Mill Creek, about $88 million. Parts of the plant are roughly 75 years old.
- Replacing the Mill Creek and High transmission lines, the main pipes out of Wicks, at nearly $59 million. The city loses 17.5% of its potable water to leaks, and these 80-year-old steel lines are suspected of contributing, though that hasn't been proven.
- Riverside Storage Phase 2, a 4.5-million-gallon reservoir for the 310 Pressure Zone, which covers Brewery Grade through the Port of The Dalles, at $19.7 million.
- About $17.5 million in Crow Creek Dam and spillway work over the 20-year plan.
The city's position, as Columbia Community Connection summarized it, is that most of this spending would be needed even if no new data center were ever built.
Google money is in the water fund, and it's in a reserve, not on your bill
This is where data-center revenue reaches your household budget. The River Road data center that began operating in 2025 brought in about $9.8 million in property taxes and negotiated fees that year, compared with an early estimate of about $5.45 million, Columbia Community Connection reported in March. The city's adopted FY2026–27 budget says certain revenues are meant to offset future water and sewer increases. It put the first data-center payment, $2.87 million, into the Special Enterprise Reserve Fund to help pay for the Wicks replacement and other long-term needs. Under the city's Strategic Investment Program policy, Guaranteed Annual Payment revenue also goes into that reserve for Public Works master-plan projects and moves to the right Public Works fund as those projects begin.
City documents expect SIP revenue tied largely to data centers to contribute about $3 million a year toward water-system costs. According to the master plan, the first two years of rate increases would have been substantially higher without it. Google has also completed about $28 million in water infrastructure tied to its 2021 agreement, including an aquifer storage and recovery system now owned by the city.
This fall's dry spell put Google's water use back on the agenda
The rate talks are happening during a water advisory. The city put a Stage 1 voluntary restriction advisory in place on Sept. 8, 2026. As of the city's Oct. 13 update, it was still in effect. The watershed started the year with record-low snowpack, and the Grasshopper Fire then interrupted the Dog River Diversion's flow into Crow Creek Reservoir. On Oct. 8 the reservoir held 78.2 million gallons, about 22 million less than a year earlier. Groundwater wells were running normally. The city's restrictions page asks customers to fix leaks, run full loads, take shorter showers and water landscaping with a delivery attachment, not an open hose.
At a Sept. 14 council meeting, a longtime resident asked whether Google's contract allows any temporary change during a drought or water emergency. Columbia Community Connection reported that Mayor Rich Mays said the city would get her an answer. The Oregonian reported in April that Google used nearly 550 million gallons of city water in 2025, close to 40% of the city's consumption. Google pays for its water like any other commercial customer. The June water-plan coverage estimated more than $1 million a year to the city if the company uses 1.4 billion gallons.
What this changes when you're pricing a home here
For a buyer, the practical point is timing. A seller's last twelve months of utility bills cover some months at the old rates and some at the February 2026 rates. None of them reflect the sewer rates the city hasn't set yet. On a home inside city limits, ask for recent bills, check the meter size against the rate sheet, and treat the water and sewer line as a figure that's going up. On a property just outside the city that's on city water, apply the 1.5x multiplier before you compare it with an in-town home. Watching the Nov. 9 bill-impact projections, and what council does with the plan on Dec. 14, will tell you more about the next few years of ownership costs than any listing will.
This is general information about public rate decisions, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the numbers for your own property with the City of The Dalles and the right professional.
A few quick questions
Does my sewer bill change if I use less water? Not for residential customers under the current structure. They pay a monthly charge per dwelling unit, not a charge based on metered flow.
Has the next water increase been approved? Not yet. The 2030 and 2044 figures come from master-plan projections, and future increases will need council action.
Does the stormwater fee change too? The city's fee schedule lists residential stormwater at $2 a month per equivalent residential unit. No 2026 change has been reported.
If you're weighing a home in The Dalles against one in Dufur, Mosier or across the river and want the utility line counted honestly, I'm happy to pull the rate sheet and the seller's bills together with you before you write an offer. Tiffany Hillman can help with that. Contact Tiffany to start your Eastern Oregon search.
