Where your money goes
Your water and sewer bills pay to clean your water, bring it to your tap, and take used water away safely.
Your bills pay for drinking water, sewer and storm drain service. The City does not budget tax money for the utilities. All customers pay for service, including the fire department for public hydrants. The utilities pay the City about $1.7 million a year for shared services. There are no private shareholders, and money left over stays in each utility for repairs.
Here is how each dollar is budgeted from July 2026 to June 2027.
Where each dollar goes
Water: $25.1 million
Not counted here: wear and tear, which is an accounting number, not money spent.
- 30¢People$7.5 millionWorkers who run the plants, fix pipes and help customers.
- 28¢Loan payments$7.1 millionPaying back loans for past projects.
- 17¢Repairs and replacement$4.2 millionNew pipes, meters, tanks and hydrants.
- 12¢Other costs$3.0 millionSupplies, insurance, taxes and other bills.
- 11¢Power and chemicals$2.7 millionElectricity and chemicals that clean the water.
- 3¢City services$0.7 millionLegal, computer and office help from the City.
Sewer and storm drains: $30.7 million
Not counted here: big projects paid with bonds and savings, and wear and tear.
- 27¢Run the sewer plant$8.4 millionA company, Veolia, runs the plant for the City.
- 25¢Repairs and replacement$7.7 millionSewer pipes, pumps and storm drains.
- 20¢Loan payments$6.3 millionPaying back loans for past projects.
- 11¢People$3.5 millionCity crews and staff who care for the system.
- 10¢Other costs$3.0 millionInsurance, supplies and other bills.
- 3¢City services$1.0 millionLegal, computer and office help from the City.
- 3¢Electricity$0.9 millionPower for the plant and pumps.
Cents and dollar amounts are rounded, so they may not add up exactly.
What an example home pays
Example: a Newport home with a 5/8 inch meter using 3,000 gallons a month. At today’s rates, it pays about $46 for water and $106 for sewer.
Homes in Middletown and Portsmouth pay Newport only for water. Any sewer or septic costs are separate. See current rates.
What your bills keep working
- 2water treatment plants
- 214 milesof water mains
- 1,312fire hydrants
- 1sewer treatment plant
- 101 milesof sewer pipes
- 55 milesof storm drains
Three things to know
- The budget sets aside more for repairs.$4.2 million for water and $7.7 million for sewer this year, up $2.5 million and $3.9 million from two years ago.
- Sewer rates did not go up this year.The sewer budget uses money saved in past years to do this. Savings can only be spent once.
- There is more work than money.Over the next five years, the City’s plan lists about $114 million of water work and $104 million of sewer and storm drain work with no money yet.
This year’s work includes the sewer plant’s settling tanks, the Easton Pond dam and lead service lines. See water projects, sewer projects and the full City budget (PDF, 79 MB).
Need help paying your bill?
Call Utilities Billing at 401-845-5604 before your due date to talk about options. Help is available in Spanish and Portuguese. Billing and usage help
Who sets the rates
The City Council sets sewer rates after two public hearings. The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission sets final water rates. You can speak at hearings. How rates are adopted
A proposed stormwater fee would move storm drain costs out of the sewer rate. Learn about the proposed stormwater fee.
More details
How we counted
Each dollar graphic shows what this year’s budget pays for. We start with the City’s “total cash needed” for each fund. For sewer, we then take out the big projects paid with bonds and fund balance, which are shown below.
- Wear and tear (depreciation)
- An accounting estimate of how much pipes and plants wear out each year: $3.5 million for water and $5.5 million for sewer. The City’s budget lists it as a non cash item, so it is not counted in the graphics.
- People
- Pay, overtime, health and dental insurance, retirement, retiree health care, workers compensation and payroll taxes.
- Repairs and replacement
- Capital projects paid from this year’s revenue. For sewer, this includes projects paid by the CSO fee, which pays for work to stop sewer overflows during storms.
- City services
- Charges the utilities pay the City for legal, management, computer and office services: $660,544 from water and $1,040,224 from sewer this year. The City uses a written cost allocation manual to set its management charges.
- Colors
- Blue marks water. Green marks sewer and storm drains. These are the same colors used to mark these pipes in the street. The colors inside each dollar show the type of cost and are the same in both charts.
- Example home
- A 5/8 inch meter using 3,000 gallons a month, at the rates in effect today: water $13.01 and sewer $25.97 per 1,000 gallons, the state water quality charge of $0.292 per 1,000 gallons, the $6.12 monthly water service charge, and the CSO fee of $28.15 a month. That totals about $152.09 a month, or about $5.00 a day. Homes that use more water, or have larger meters, pay more.
- Budget basis
- Amounts are from the City’s FY2027 adopted budget. Finance confirmed on October 30, 2026 that they are the same as the March 18, 2026 proposed budget, with no budget changes since.
- Fund
- A separate account in the City’s books. Water and sewer each have their own.
- General Fund
- The City’s main budget, which pays for things like police, fire and parks.
Where the money comes from
Water: $25.5 million listed in the budget
- Customer water bills$15.0 million
- Bulk water sold to other water systems$4.7 million
- Fire protection charges$1.9 million
- Restricted funds and bond proceeds$1.8 million
- Grants$1.0 million
- Reimbursements from the sewer fund and Middletown$0.6 million
- Rent, interest and other$0.3 million
Sewer: $48.7 million listed in the budget
- Customer sewer bills (sewer use charge and CSO fee)$18.5 million
- Bonds$12.0 million
- General Fund advance (authorized, not advanced)$6.0 million
- Money saved in past years$5.0 million
- Middletown$3.9 million
- The Navy$1.5 million
- Water fund$1.0 million
- Permits, fees and interest$0.6 million
- Stormwater charges from City parking and harbor funds$0.3 million
Amounts are rounded. Money saved in past years includes $3.7 million set aside earlier for the Navy’s share of loan payments and $1.2 million of other sewer savings. The budget authorized a $6.0 million advance from the City’s General Fund for the clarifier project. As of November 3, 2026, it has not been advanced or spent.
Fire departments pay the water system for public fire hydrant service, like any other customer. Newport’s Fire Department pays about $754,000 a year. This is part of fire protection charges.
Loans and big projects
This year’s sewer budget lists $18.0 million of big projects: $10.8 million paid with bonds and $7.2 million from fund balance. The $6.0 million General Fund advance authorized in the budget was part of that fund balance amount. The biggest project fixes the sewer plant’s settling tanks, called primary clarifiers. The City’s capital plan lists $12.5 million for it this year.
Bonds are paid back over many years, like a family pays off a house. As of November 3, 2026, the General Fund advance has not been made or spent.
In the City’s capital plan, this year’s water projects are paid by water rates. Another $1.6 million of water tank work is paid from a legal settlement and is not part of this budget.
Exact numbers
| Category | Amount | Cents of each $1 |
|---|---|---|
| People | $7,484,281 | 29.8¢ |
| Loan payments | $7,062,117 | 28.1¢ |
| Repairs and replacement | $4,169,037 | 16.6¢ |
| Other costs | $3,032,299 | 12.1¢ |
| Power and chemicals | $2,726,621 | 10.8¢ |
| City services | $660,544 | 2.6¢ |
| Total | $25,134,899 | 100.0¢ |
| Category | Amount | Cents of each $1 |
|---|---|---|
| Run the sewer plant | $8,385,326 | 27.3¢ |
| Repairs and replacement | $7,668,296 | 25.0¢ |
| Loan payments | $6,278,127 | 20.4¢ |
| People | $3,503,452 | 11.4¢ |
| Other costs | $2,953,536 | 9.6¢ |
| City services | $1,040,224 | 3.4¢ |
| Electricity | $873,979 | 2.8¢ |
| Total | $30,702,940 | 100.0¢ |
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Metered water charges and billing charges | $15,030,968 |
| Bulk water charges | $4,745,116 |
| Public and private fire protection | $1,916,376 |
| Transfer from restricted funds and bond proceeds | $1,841,074 |
| Grant revenue | $1,000,000 |
| WPC and Middletown reimbursements | $615,431 |
| Rent, interest, sundry billing, penalties and other | $325,300 |
| Total | $25,474,265 |
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sewer use charge | $14,309,469 |
| CSO fixed fee | $4,213,534 |
| Bond proceeds | $12,000,000 |
| General Fund advance (authorized in the budget; not advanced as of November 3, 2026) | $6,000,000 |
| Restricted cash for Navy share of debt | $3,732,500 |
| Use of net assets (sewer savings) | $1,247,731 |
| Middletown (treatment, plant share and Long Wharf debt share) | $3,874,664 |
| U.S. Navy | $1,500,000 |
| Water utility | $982,699 |
| Interest, permits, pretreatment, assessments and other | $605,180 |
| Maritime and Parking fund stormwater charges | $250,000 |
| Total | $48,715,777 |
| Item | Water | Sewer |
|---|---|---|
| What this year’s budget pays for | $25,134,899 | $30,702,940 |
| Big projects paid with bonds and fund balance | $0 | $17,997,731 |
| Wear and tear (depreciation, not cash) | $3,533,782 | $5,500,000 |
| Full FY2027 budget | $28,668,681 | $54,200,671 |
Budget by part of the system, and past years
| Part of the system | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water plants (Newport and Lawton Valley) | $11,151,454 |
| Water pipes and hydrants | $5,112,697 |
| Water office and planning | $3,069,709 |
| Reservoirs | $2,709,722 |
| Customer service and billing | $2,645,490 |
| Water testing lab | $445,827 |
| Sewer plant and office | $18,409,420 |
| Sewer repair projects paid by bills | $7,668,296 |
| Sewer pipes and storm drains | $4,625,224 |
| Budget year | Water | Sewer |
|---|---|---|
| FY2027 (this year) | $25,134,899 | $30,702,940 |
| FY2026 adopted | $22,841,233 | $27,006,762 |
| FY2025 adopted | $22,274,996 | $23,701,066 |
These are budget plans, not year end spending.
Source documents
- City of Newport FY2027 Proposed Budget, March 18, 2026 (PDF, 79 MB): Water Fund and Water Pollution Control Fund summaries, Description of Revenues
- FY2027 to FY2031 Recommended Capital Improvement Program (PDF, 29 MB): Tables 5 and 6, and the five year schedule
- FY2026 Revised Proposed and FY2027 Projected Budgets: FY2025 and FY2026 plans
- FY2027 Proposed Capital Improvement Program presentation, April 7, 2026: unfunded project totals
- Department of Utilities budget workshop, April 16, 2026
- Utilities website: Rates and Charges (current rates and example home), system pages (miles of pipe, hydrants), Billing and Usage Help
This page is general information for customers. It is not a financial disclosure for investors.
Last updated November 3, 2026.
Questions? Call (401) 845-5600 or visit Contact Us.
