Utility Rates

Utility Billing

City of Crystal

4141 Douglas Dr. N.

CrystalMN55422-1120

The City of Crystal charges for water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, street lights and recycling services. Billing is done on a quarterly basis with one third of the city billed each month. The month of a customer's utility bill is determined by their location in the city.

Customers moving into the city must contact utility billing to set up an account and customers moving out must contact utility billing to arrange for a final bill. You can fill out the online form here.

Water Usage Portal
Crystal has a free SENSUS Customer Portal to set an alert regarding water usage (such as from a broken pipe), as well as view current and past water usage. Create your free account here. NOTE: Have your customer number and account number handy at sign up. It is on your quarterly utility bill.

Utility Payment Assistance
Hennepin County provides utility bill assistance and other emergency and short-term aid to residents in financial crisis through its Emergency Programs webpage here.

The State of Minnesota's Commerce Department offers an Energy Assistance Program here. This assistance goes toward heat, electricity, and past due water costs. Energy Assistance is free for all eligible households.

The City of Crystal does not have a utility bill aid program.

Making Payments
Payments may be made in person at Crystal City Hall, by mail, online, by phone, or via drop boxes at city hall, 4141 Douglas Dr., and the Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Dr. To pay by phone, call 763-531-1120 and select Option 1.
Note: New customers must wait for their first bill to arrive by mail before setting up an online account.

Auto Pay
Automatic payment plan customers pay their bills through an electronic fund transfer from their checking or savings account, MasterCard or Visa. They continue to receive a utility bill with service information, the amount due and the date of withdrawal. Funds are automatically withdrawn from the account on the stated due date. Customers can enroll here.

Utility billing contact information
Utility Billing
City of Crystal
4141 Douglas Drive North
Crystal, MN 55422-1696
CONTACT US

RESIDENTIAL (QUARTLERY) UTILITY RATES COMPARISON 2022 and 2023
Name of Charge	Description of Charge	Tier (if applicable)	2022 Charge	2023 Charge
Emergency Well Surcharge	This fee covers the cost to install the three emergency wells put in place by the Joint Water Commission, as well as the on-going cost of maintenance so that they are operational if needed in an emergency.	Per unit (all units)	$0.21	$0.21
Minnesota State Water Testing Fee	This is a pass-through fee is from the Minnesota Department of Health.		$2.43	$2.43
Water Charge - Base Fee	The water charge - base fee covers a portion of the cost associated with the operation and maintenance of the water distribution system.		$15.78	$16.88
Water Consumption - One unit is 1,000 gallons	This is the charge per unit of water consumed.	Tier #1: 1-30 units	$7.79	$8.34
		Tier #2: 31-60 units	$8.61	$9.21
		Tier #3: 61 units and up	$9.02	$9.65
Water Meter Fee - 5/8" Meter	This fee covers a portion of the cost associated with the city operating and maintaining the water meter reading system. This fee depends on you meter size.		$8	$7.85
Water Meter Fee - 3/4" Meter	This fee covers a portion of the cost associated with the city operating and maintaining the water meter reading system. This fee depends your meter size.		$8	$8.64
Sanitary Sewer Charge - Base Fee	Sewer - base fee covers a portion of the cost associated with the operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection (sewer) system.		$13.38	$14.32
Sanitary Sewer Consumption * - One unit is 1,000 gallons.	This is the charge per unit of water run through the sewer.	Tier #1: 1-30 units	$5.51	$5.89
		Tier #2: 31-60 units	$6.75	$7.22
		Tier #3: 61 units and up	$7.99	$8.55
Storm Drainage	The storm water utility fee provides funding to provide the storm water infrastructure, such as catch basins, pipes, ponds, infiltration areas, etc.		$22.15	$22.15
Recycling	Recycling fee is based on the costs charged to the City from the Hennepin Recycling Group (HRG) for providing recycling and other material disposal services.		$12	$15
Street Lights	The vast majority of street lights are owned and operated by Xcel Energy. The city pays a flat rate per month per light.		$5	$5.35

*You may see a different number for units of water consumed as units of sewer consumed. This is because in the summer time, people are more likely to water the lawn, or do other types of activities in which the water is not going down the sewer.

Sample Utility Bill with explanation of charges, below.
Click to enlarge.

Commercial Utility Charges Billed Quarterly

Commercial, industrial and institutional customers have larger diameter water meters and use more water due to the size and nature of their operations.

These customers pay a higher water service charge, depending on the size of their water meter. Sewer charges are based on the amount of water used and billed at the rate of:

Tiering	Units	Price
Tier 1	0-30 units	$9.96 per unit
Tier 2	31-60 units	$11.29 per unit
Tier 3	61+ units	$12.62 per unit

Storm Drainage Charges
Storm drainage charges for non-residential land uses are calculated by multiplying the storm water rate for a single-family residential lot times the Residential Equivalency Factor (REF) times the lot acreage. The REF varies based on the land use type and is defined as the ratio of the average volume of surface water runoff coming from one acre of the given land use as compared to the average volume of surface water runoff coming from one acre of land in use as a single-family home.