Frequently Asked Questions

Northstar CSD coordinates refuse services on behalf of customers within the Northstar community with Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal (TTSD).  

Curbside collection occurs each Monday, regardless of weather or the pick-up day falling on a holiday.

TTSD requests all refuse be placed to the curb prior to 7 a.m. non-holiday; 6 a.m. holiday the day of pick-up.

Refuse can be securely stored in a bear box prior to day of pick up; Open containers should only be placed out at the curb the morning of pick up, to prevent the threat of access by wildlife.

As a new customer of the Northstar Community Services District (NCSD), you will need to complete a Notification of Ownership Change form. The form can be delivered by email, mail, or fax; all methods are provided at the top of the form. This form can be completed by either the buyer or the seller. 

Northstar CSD customers can opt for electronic statements and autopay once registered with the NCSD Customer Portal.

Please ensure you open the verification email once you have completed the registration form. 

Without doing so, you will not have full online access that includes electronic statements and autopayment options.

Northstar residential water customers are billed as single family connections, with 1" or less meters a base rate that is broken down further into an operating and capital. Each customer is billed for consumption per 1,000 gallons used. The consumption fee is also broken down further into an operating and capital charge. Please click here to view the current rate schedule for Northstar water customers.

Northstar residential sewer customers will see sewer services billed to their annual Placer County Tax Bill. Please click here to view the current rate schedule for Northstar sewer customers. 

Martis Camp, Lahontan, and Schaffer's Mill residential water customers are billed as single family connections, with 1" or less meters a base rate that is broken down further into an operating and capital. Each customer is billed for consumption per 1,000 gallons used. The consumption fee is also broken down further into an operating and capital charge. Please click here to view the current rate schedule for Martis Valley water customers.

The Northstar Community Services District (NCSD or District) acquired the Martis Valley Water System (including the Martis Camp, Schaffer’s Mill, and Lahontan communities) from the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) on 10/01 of 2015. As part of the transfer agreement, the District adopted PCWA’s Rules, Regulations, Rates, and Charges that were in place for your service area at the time of transfer. These have become part of the District’s water ordinance. This ordinance is a local law that applies to all properties within the NCSD boundaries.

As a property owner within NCSD boundaries, your property is subject to this ordinance.  Per Article 11 which covers the rates and charges for service in our Martis Valley Water System (referred to by PCWA as the Eastern Water System or Zone 4 in Article 11).  Although the rates have changed since 2015, the Special Conditions for Domestic Water Service remain in effect. The conditions specifically state:

"The monthly Fixed Charge and the renewal and replacement charge shall be levied against all lots and connections within the Eastern Water System regardless of the size of the lot, the size of the meter required to serve the lot, or the amount of water used during that month."

The reasons behind billing water charges for undeveloped lots are:

1) There is an ongoing cost to maintain the existing water system.

2) The District must provide for the future replacement of water infrastructure that had been constructed to supply potable water to a location on each lot so that a property owner could build on that site. You are receiving a bill for your property to cover those ongoing costs.  If all property owners in your service area were not to pay their equitable share of these costs, the water rates for property owners that chose to develop would be artificially high.  

NCSD understands receiving utility bills for an undeveloped lot is frustrating.  Our goal is to provide high quality water in the most efficient and reliable manner possible, at present and in to the future.

The District holds board meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. The meetings are held at the Northstar Community Services District Administrative Offices located at 900 Northstar Drive, Truckee, CA 96161. Click HERE to view our Board Meeting calendar.