Payments
Pay the city.
Water, sewer and garbage on one bill. Permits, licences and the waste dump fee too. Everything you can pay the city for, in one place.
Water, sewer and garbage
One bill, four ways to pay it.
Water, sewer and garbage are one account and one bill. You do not pay them separately.
Online — pay at msezpay.com, the city's water-bill portal.
Drive through — there is a drive-through window at City Hall, 201 Second Street, during business hours. You do not have to come inside to pay a water bill.
By mail — City of Columbia, 201 Second Street, Columbia, MS 39429
In person — City Hall, 201 Second Street, during business hours
Questions about a bill, or starting and stopping service: 601.736.8201.
Everything else
What else you can pay the city for.
Only the water bill can be paid online today. Everything below is paid at City Hall, 201 Second Street, unless it says otherwise. One number reaches all of it: 601.736.8201.
Business licence (privilege licence) — the Deputy City Clerk's office. What you pay depends on the kind of business: service businesses pay by employee count, retail pays on inventory. Both fee tables in full
Building and gas permits — the City Inspector's office. The fee is worked out from the value of the job. The whole fee table
Sewage waste dump — $20.19 per dump, at Bluff Street Park. This is its own account, not your household water account, so call 601.736.8201 and open it before your first trip. How it works
Garbage can deposit — paid at the Water Department, and the monthly charge is billed with your water and sewer. A second can means a second deposit. What the city collects
Food truck or mobile vendor permit — handled with the other permits. Start here
Cemetery plot — a city service, not the county's. Ask for the City Inspector's office.
Municipal court fine — not on the water portal. Call the Municipal Court directly on 601-736-4418.
Paying something the city charges for that is not on this list? Tell us and we will add it.
Start or stop service
Moving in? Moving out?
Call the Water Department at 601.736.8201 to start or stop water service — connections are typically processed within two business days. Emergency line available around the clock.
Your water Your water
Where your water comes from.
Columbia has four storage tanks — 500,000, 400,000, 300,000 and 100,000 gallons — 1,300,000 gallons of storage in all. (Source: the City of Columbia Water Department, September 2026.)
For rates, starting or stopping service, or a question about a bill, call the Water Department at 601.736.8201. More on city utilities