View and manage your account

Water billing - overview

The City's water billing staff manages over 250,000 water accounts. Water meter reading information is obtained from radio frequency (RF) transmitters that are located on the exterior of each home, business and facility within municipal boundaries. This information is transmitted through our RF network and used to produce bills, ensuring you are billed based on your actual water usage.

Water utility bills are issued once every two months for most residential properties and every month for larger consumers.

Sign up for a My ServiceOttawa account

My ServiceOttawa is a useful online tool that allows users to manage their water utility bills online, including the ability to:

View current and previous bills
View current balance and payment history
Pay your bill or enroll in the Pre-Authorized Debit plan
Sign up for paperless billing
Consult your daily and hourly usage, and compare your monthly usage
Set up email alerts to notify you of consistent usage over seven consecutive days or when your usage exceeds your average daily use and much more!

To register your water utility account to your My ServiceOttawa, please follow these instructions. If you do not have a My ServiceOttawa account, you will firstly need to register for one.

Watch this short video to see how My ServiceOttawa can assist you in managing your usage:

The Water Consumption video opens with a screenshot of the City of Ottawa logo. Non-vocalized music plays in the background, with a digital keyboard and upscale beat. The music is in a loop and repeats itself every few seconds. As the City logo disappears, a new screen appears with an animated view of the Parliament building and pans to a nearby neighbourhood, zooming in on a specific home in which a character is looking down at his cell phone. The narrator’s voice speaks “The City of Ottawa is making improvements to our online water, wastewater and stormwater billing service to let you monitor and manage your water consumption.” The character image and narrator’s voice ends. The screen title reads: “Manage your water consumption”, alongside a drawing of two water droplets. The title drops down and ends. The next image is a cell phone screen displaying the MyServiceOttawa login page, with an email address and password shown, in a series of dots. The narrator’s voice remarks, “Simply log on to My ServiceOttawa to view your past and current water consumption monthly, daily and even hourly!” The image ends. Next a chart displays an example of water consumption information and then the screen quickly pans across three Water Usage charts displaying monthly, daily and hourly examples. The charts end. The screen cuts first to a water usage chart that compares the total usage of the current period to the previous annual billing period, by month. It then cuts to the Alert subscription page. The narrator’s voice states, “You can also compare your consumption to previous billing periods and set email alerts when you’re using more water than you’d like.” The usage chart and alert subscription page close. This quickly cuts to an image of a vibrating cell phone with a picture of a mail envelop showing a New Email Alert with the text: “City of Ottawa Water System notification.” The narrator’s voice remarks “Plus, be notified when there are any issues with your water system including meter equipment failures or water leaks, so you can fix the problem promptly and ensure accurate billing.” The phone alert closes. The accompanying screen shows an Equipment Failure Notification addressed to John Doe that reads: “Dear John Doe, Our records indicate a failure of your water metering equipment located at 1 MAIN ST. As a result, we are no longer able to read your metered consumption.” Cut to the next screen showing a Water Consumption Alert to John Doe that reads: “Dear John Doe, Our water consumption records for 1 MAIN ST indicate you have consumed 60% of your average monthly water consumption. Property owners should investigate any unexpected change in water consumption to check for plumbing problems, leaks or unmonitored running water”. The notification texts close. The text screen: “myservice.ottawa.ca” appears as the narrator’s voice states “To access these new tools, simply log in to the MyServiceOttawa website.” The text screen ends. A new screen appears showing the Ottawa.ca/wws contact information and the narrator’s voice suggests “Have questions? Call or visit us online for more information.” To close, the narrator’s voice announces, “It’s just one of the ways we are serving you better.” The contact information and the narrator’s voice ends. The City Logo appears on the last screen. The music and the Water Consumption video ends.

Paperless billing

Ottawa residents can sign up for paperless billing for water utility bills.

Advantages

Receive an email notifying you that your bill is ready for viewing with the amount, due date and link to My ServiceOttawa
Reduce paper - fewer envelopes, stamps and cheques
Switch back to paper anytime

It’s easy and free to register for paperless bills

Sign in to your My ServiceOttawa account.
If you don't have an account, create one.
Once you are signed in, click on Water Utility billing under the Services Menu – you’ll need your water account number and balance on last City of Ottawa water utility bill.
Select yes for paperless billing. You will no longer receive a paper bill in the mail.

Changing your email for paperless bills

It is your responsibility to update your email address through My ServiceOttawa. Your participation in the program will be cancelled if your email notification is returned as undeliverable. If you would like to change the email address that is currently on file with My ServiceOttawa, please follow these instructions.

Water Usage Alerts

Register for Water Usage Alerts

You can sign up through My ServiceOttawa to receive Water Usage Alerts when:

Your water consumption exceeds your pre-set threshold,
You have continuous usage over seven consecutive days
Your consumption exceeds your average monthly use

You can also view monthly, daily, and hourly consumption and compare monthly usage. These tools help property owners better manage their consumption and monitor usage in the fastest and most efficient way possible.

It’s easy and free to register for Water Usage Alerts

Sign in to your My ServiceOttawa account.
If you don’t have an account, create one.
Once you are signed in, click on the Water Utility bill under the Services Menu.
Once on the account overview, click on the Alert subscription on the left side Menu.
Register for the Water Usage Alerts by clicking on Yes and entering the preferred Alert Parameters.
Alert notifications will be sent to the email address you have registered with My ServiceOttawa.

Reading your water utility bill

Your water utility bill has been designed to be user-friendly, easier to read, and easier to understand. It is also issued in your preferred language, English or French. It includes:

15-digit customer account number
Current balance
Payment due date
A breakdown of current charges, rates and property information
Graphs showing current usage and usage history over the past two years
A dedicated section for special announcements and customer messages.

The How to Read Your Bill video opens with a screenshot of the City of Ottawa logo. Non-vocalized music plays in the background, with a digital keyboard and upscale beat. The music is in a loop and repeats itself every few seconds. As the City logo disappears, a new screen appears with an animated view of the Parliament building and pans to a nearby neighbourhood, zooming in on a specific building with an elevator door opening. A character stands in front of a wall of mounted mailboxes and is seen pulling an envelope out of his mailbox and looking at it. The character image ends. While these screenshots are quickly panning, the narrator’s voice speaks “The City of Ottawa has improved our water, wastewater and stormwater bill to make it easier to find the information you need.” The onscreen title reads: “How to read your bill”, along with a drawing of two water droplets. The title drops and ends. The screen zooms to the character’s hand holding the envelope which spins in the air and opens as the bill flies out. The narrator speaks “When you receive your bill, check the top right corner to find your new 15-digit account number.” A magnifying glass appears on the front of the bill and zooms to the Customer number and Account number. The character image ends. The Customer number and Account number are highlighted in yellow as the narrator continues “Make sure to use this new number when you pay your bill.” While the magnifying glass quickly pans to the activity and new charges summary section of the bill, the narrator’s voice states, “Next, you’ll see all your essential information including your activity since your last statement new charges, balance and due date.” The activity since last bill and amount due section are highlighted. The magnifying glass twirls to the right of the bill to the My ServiceOttawa section. The narrator’s voice explains “The redesigned bill also includes the latest news from the City of Ottawa - be sure to check this section often for important updates!” The Narrator pauses and the front of the bill ends. The screen quickly cuts to the back of the bill’s detailed breakdown of consumption and charges section. It zooms into the how the new charges were calculated section, while the narrator’s voice speaks “You’ll also find detailed breakdowns of consumption and charges and can compare your usage history over the past two years.” Then the magnifying glass quickly scans to the consumption history chart. The bill and screen images end. A new screen appears showing the Ottawa.ca/wws contact information and the narrator’s voice suggests “Have questions? Call or visit us online for more information.” The image ends. To close, the narrator’s voice announces, “It’s just one of the ways we are serving you better.” The image and narrator’s voice ends. The City Logo appears on the last screen. The music and the How To Read Your Bill video finishes.

Choose your language

You can select and change the preferred official language on your water utility bill.

Please go online to My Settings at My ServiceOttawa or call Revenue Services at 613-580-2444 (TTY 613-580-2401) to choose your preferred language.

If you already have a My ServiceOttawa account, your bill will be sent in the official language you have selected for your account. If you would like to receive your bill in the other official language, please go online to My ServiceOttawa or call Revenue Services.

Accessible format

To receive an accessible format (e-text, large print or Braille) of your billing documents, please contact Revenue Services at 613-580-2444, (TTY: 613-580-2401).

In Person Services

Please be advised that the Revenue Services Front Counter is appointment-based only, and appointments are available to book on a first come first serve basis. Please have your property tax roll number or water utility customer-account number available upon booking.

Appointments are available at the following times:

Monday to Friday, 8:30-4:30 pm (September through May)
Monday to Friday, 8:30 – 4 pm (June through August)

To book, modify or cancel an appointment online, please visit City of Ottawa Revenue Services (frontdesksuite.ca).

There is no cost to book an appointment with Revenue Services, however, please be advised that fees may apply depending on the type of service requested. For more information please visit Water Utility Rates & Fees or Paying your taxes. Please also be advised that our office is only accepting cheque payments at this time.

For more information or for assistance using the online booking tool, please contact Revenue Services at 613-580-2444.