Water rates typically are a touchy subject for most homeowners. Yet the components of a water bill can be complicated. Below are some basic facts about water bills for Northville Township homeowners.

Detroit Water & Sewage Department:

While Northville Township, like other Detroit area communities, has joined the Great Lakes Water Authority, it is still a work in progress, that is expected to launch on Jan. 1, 2016.

Meanwhile, Northville Township is wholesale water customer community of DWSD, which distributes water to approximately 8,300 service connections. DWSD changed their water rate structure in 2010 from solely a consumption charge (also called usage rate or commodity charge), to a two-part rate structure, which included a fixed component to also provide for capital costs and improvements associated with water treatment plants and transmission mains, said Marina Neumaier, Northville Township finance director.

In fiscal year 2015-16, DWSD altered its fee structure from more volume-based to fixed-based. Fixed costs currently represent 60-percent of the annual total cost billed in Fiscal Year 2015-16 verses 30-percent fixed cost billed in the prior year, Neumaier added.

Composition of rates:

The changes from DWSD mean that homeowners pay the following:

Fixed rates: Each user in Northville Township pays a fixed cost ofm $12.45 for sewer monthly and $15.62 monthly for water. The total is $28.07 per month fixed costs.

Consumption rates: Users also pay, based on the amount of water used, which homeowners can monitor by checking their meters. The units on the meter are measured in 1,000 gallons. Users pay $5.19 for water for every 1,000 gallons used. For sewer, they pay $4.82 per every 1,000 gallons.