Destin Water Users

What Destin Water Users does

Destin Water Users, Inc. (DWU) is a private not-for-profit water utility cooperative incorporated on September 9, 1963 and headquartered at 218 Main Street, Destin, Florida. The company is tax-exempt under IRS code 501(c)12 and operates as a member-owned cooperative governed by a board of directors elected from its membership, with General Manager Monica Wallis overseeing day-to-day operations. DWU holds an exclusive regulated franchise to provide drinking water, wastewater collection and treatment, and reclaimed water across all of incorporated Destin and portions of unincorporated Okaloosa County, serving roughly 12,000 residents in winter and over 40,000 during the summer tourist season.

DWU's core technical infrastructure draws drinking water from the Floridan Aquifer through five coastal wells and a remote inland wellfield developed jointly with South Walton Utility Company. The George French Water Reclamation Facility has a 6 MGD design capacity and uses mechanical screening, grit separation, biological oxidation ditches, clarification, and chlorine disinfection. Reclaimed water — produced since 1985 and one of the most mature such operations in Florida — is distributed for irrigation to golf courses, condominium complexes, shopping centers, parks, and residences. Supporting programs include an Aquifer Storage & Recovery system, a GIS mapping approximately 95% of infrastructure assets, a Cross Connection Control program cited as a model for other utilities, a FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) Control Program, a valve-exercising program in which DWU was among the first Florida utilities in compliance, meter testing, and a cooperative hydrant maintenance effort with the Destin Fire Control District.

DWU generates revenue through monthly billing consisting of base facility charges plus tiered volumetric usage fees, with distinct rate classes for residential, commercial, motel, condominium, and restaurant customers. The company implemented a 12% rate increase effective January 2022 to fund infrastructure replacement, land acquisition, and technology upgrades, and adopted a new rate schedule in November 2025 for January 2026 billing. Customer-facing technology includes a Sensus Analytics usage portal, a BillingDoc online payment system accepting major cards and eChecks, e-billing, and a 24-hour IVR phone system. The company has no subsidiaries, no parent company, and serves a strictly domestic Florida service area.

Name

Destin Water Users

Legal name

Destin Water Users, Inc.

Website

https://dwuinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Destin Water Users, Inc. is a private not-for-profit 501(c)12 water utility cooperative serving Destin, Florida and portions of Okaloosa County, providing drinking water, wastewater treatment, and reclaimed water services to roughly 12,000 winter and 40,000 summer residents and businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Non‑Potable Reuse Utilities (Irrigation, Industrial, Cooling) (EUANAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Advanced Treatment & Purification Utilities (MF/UF, RO, AOP, UV) (EUANAGAD)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Wastewater treatment
• Reclaimed water reuse
• Municipal water supply
• Water reclamation facility

Headquarters

HQ city

Destin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Water Service Revenue: Monthly billing consisting of base facility charges by customer class (residential, commercial, motel, condominium) plus volumetric charges per 1,000 gallons consumed. Residential and commercial have tiered block pricing. Revenue is recurring monthly based on metered consumption.
2. Wastewater Service Revenue: Monthly billing with base facility charges plus volumetric charges per 1,000 gallons. Wastewater is unmetered so billing is based on water usage. Separate rates for residential, commercial, motel, condominium, and restaurant classes.
3. Reclaimed Water Revenue: Revenue from reclaimed water used for landscape irrigation of shopping centers, condominium complexes, golf courses, parks, individual residences, and plant operations. Billed volumetrically.
4. Membership Fees: One-time $30.00 membership fee per meter connection, refundable upon disconnection. Administrative fee of $20.00 per connection (non-refundable).
5. Service Charges and Penalties: Various administrative fees including $20 for disconnection/reconnection, $35 non-payment, $40 account transfer, $50 cleaning water activation. Late payment penalty of 10% after the 15th. Returned check fees ranging $30-$50 based on check value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Destin Water Users is a regulated not-for-profit water utility that provides drinking water supply from the Floridan Aquifer, wastewater collection and treatment via the George French Water Reclamation Facility (6 MGD design capacity), and reclaimed water for landscape irrigation reuse. The company delivers these services through company-owned infrastructure — coastal and remote wells, treatment facilities, distribution mains, lift stations, and meters — to residential, condominium, motel, commercial, and restaurant customers within its exclusive service territory covering all of incorporated Destin and portions of unincorporated Okaloosa County, Florida.

Product overview

Destin Water Users is a private not-for-profit water utility corporation providing water, wastewater, and reclaimed water services to Destin, Florida and portions of unincorporated Okaloosa County. The company's core offerings consist of drinking water supply from the Floridan Aquifer, wastewater treatment via the George French Water Reclamation Facility, and reclaimed water for irrigation reuse. These core services are supported by supplementary modules including a Customer Usage Portal (Sensus Analytics), Online Bill Payment (BillingDoc), E-Billing, Automated Phone System, Geographic Information System (GIS), Cross Connection Control, FOG Control, Hydrant Maintenance, Valve Exercising, Water Conservation, and Meter Testing programs. The company also maintains a weather station broadcasting to Weather Underground. The overall product is a unified utility service platform combining essential water/wastewater infrastructure with customer-facing digital tools for billing, usage monitoring, and account management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 12,000 people in winter months and over 40,000 in summer months
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• South Walton Utility Company, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint remote wellfield development providing additional water supply capacity. Both utilities' inland wells are completed in the Floridan Aquifer. The combination of coastal and inland wells provide capacity needed to supply build-out population water needs. DWU and SWUC recently completed a joint desalinization study showing feasibility of seawater desalination as future water supply.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority: Florida water utility serving the Florida Keys, an island chain with similar geography, climate exposure, and tourism-driven demand profile. Comparable in scale and coastal/island operational challenges but in a different region of Florida.

Broad incumbents

• JEA: Large Florida combined water/wastewater utility serving Jacksonville. Offers overlapping capabilities across water supply, wastewater treatment, and reclaimed water, but at much larger scale and across a broader geography.
• American Water Works: Largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility. Comparable regulated water utility business model across multiple states but at substantially greater scale and as a publicly traded for-profit.
• Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America): Large multi-state investor-owned water and wastewater utility with regulated operations across the U.S. Comparable regulated water utility business model but operates at much greater scale and as a publicly traded for-profit.
• Orange County Utilities (Florida): Florida water and wastewater utility serving Orange County including Orlando. Comparable service portfolio (water, wastewater, reclaimed water) but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Tampa Bay Water: Regional wholesale water utility serving the Tampa Bay area. Operates large-scale water supply infrastructure including desalination capability, comparable in category but at substantially larger scale than DWU.

Direct peers

• Panama City Beach Water Utilities: Coastal Florida panhandle utility serving Panama City Beach with comparable tourism-driven seasonal demand swings, water supply from the Floridan Aquifer, and wastewater/reclaimed water services.
• South Walton Utility Company: Joint wellfield partner with Destin Water Users; similarly-sized Florida panhandle water and wastewater utility serving South Walton County. Directly comparable in scale, customer mix (tourism-heavy), and service offerings including reclaimed water.
• Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA): Florida panhandle water and wastewater utility serving Escambia County including Pensacola and Pensacola Beach. Similar coastal/tourism customer base, comparable size, and overlapping reclaimed water and infrastructure programs.
• Niceville Water System: Adjacent Florida panhandle water utility serving Niceville and surrounding areas in Okaloosa County. Comparable scale and shares the same Floridan Aquifer source and coastal Northwest Florida operating environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/destinwaterusers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Destin Water Users