Last updated: October 1, 2026
We check source claims and calculations separately. An official number can still be applied incorrectly if its effective date, customer class, billing unit, or tier rule is misunderstood.
What needs verification
For a city calculator, checks should cover the provider and service area, adopted rate period, customer type, consumption unit, meter-dependent charges, rate tiers, minimums, sewer rules, and any surcharge included in the result.
Explanatory copy also needs to match the implementation. A page cannot claim a rule is supported when the code ignores it, or say a result includes sewer when it only calculates water.
Source priority
An adopted utility tariff or schedule is preferred over a press release or summary. Official utility tables and worked examples are useful for understanding how the schedule is applied.
Unofficial blogs, search snippets, and AI-generated answers are not definitive sources. If a source cannot be read reliably, we do not fill missing rate values from memory. We may use another verifiable source or defer the calculator.
Dates and classifications
We distinguish a calendar year from a utility fiscal year and record the actual effective period. A document dated 2026 may describe a proposal, an earlier period, or rates that start later.
We check whether the schedule applies to a residential, multifamily, commercial, inside-city, or outside-city account. Meter size and billing days can be as important as the headline rate.
Handling conflicts
Official sources can disagree. A summary page may be stale while an adopted schedule is current. We compare the documents, dates, and definitions instead of choosing whichever number first appeared in search.
The binding or most specific schedule normally guides the supported calculation. If the conflict remains material, we should explain the unresolved issue, narrow the calculator’s scope, or withhold the uncertain rule.
Checking the arithmetic
We compare the implementation with worked examples where available. Tests should also cover meaningful boundaries such as zero use, a daily minimum, a tier edge, a conservation-credit cutoff, or a separate sewer volume.
A matching example does not prove every possible bill is supported. The page should explain what the tests and rules cover. Unit conversions and rounding require their own checks.
Source links and revision dates
City pages link to the official rate source and state the supported period. The source-check date records the review point; it does not mean the website has continuously monitored the utility since then.
When a relevant change is verified, the page should be updated, dated, and rechecked. Older bills may require the older schedule rather than the newest rate.
Corrections and evidence
Send suspected factual errors to contact@waterbillcalc.com. Include the page URL, the disputed statement or output, and the official source. If the error is arithmetic, a small set of inputs and the expected result helps reproduce it.
We may ask for more information. Reports are evaluated on evidence rather than agreement with a visitor’s preferred result. Corrections follow the published Corrections Policy.
Limits of verification
Testing and source checks reduce errors but do not replace a utility’s account records or special determinations. We do not certify water bills or decide exemptions and allowances.
A calculator may remain useful for its stated scope even when it excludes an account-specific rule. Those limits must stay visible to the reader.
Questions about this page? Email contact@waterbillcalc.com.