Flat rate water pricing charges the same amount for water service regardless of how much water a customer uses. This older approach, once common, has largely been replaced by metered water billing in urban areas. Under flat rates, households using minimal water pay the same as heavy users, providing no financial incentive for conservation. Flat rates also don't recover costs fairly—heavy users are subsidized by light users. The shift to metered billing, where charges vary with consumption, promotes conservation by making users pay for what they actually use. However, flat rates persist in some smaller communities where meter installation costs exceed benefits, or where historical practice hasn't been updated. Some water systems use partial flat rates—a fixed base charge covering infrastructure costs plus volumetric charges for water used. Rate structure decisions balance conservation goals, cost recovery, fairness, and administrative feasibility.