SPRINGDALE -- Customers of the city's water utility might see rates go up over the next five years by 20 cents for every thousand gallons they use after the first 1,500 gallons.
Sewer customers face the same rate increase. Springdale residential customers currently pay $3.07 for water and $2.76 for sewer after the first 1,500 gallons.
Members of the Water and Sewer Commission voted unanimously last week to raise rates for the city's water and sewer services. The City Council also must approve any rate increases, which would begin in 2020.
"And we hope we don't have to ask them for more for five more years," Heath Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities, told the commission on Wednesday. The last rate increase was in 2015, he said.
The increases would apply to all residential, commercial and industrial customers,Ward said. Although out-of-towners might see additional fees charged by their own cities on their Springdale bills.
In addition to the costs of the use increases, the minimum fee for service on all accounts would increase to $10 a month for both water and sewer. That minimum service charge covers a customer's first 1,500 gallons of water and sewer use each month, as well as things such as reading the meters, postage for the bills and system repair, Ward said.
He said fee hadn't been raised in 20 years.
The current minimum service charge for water is $6.22 per month for the first 1,500 gallons for customers in the city. Sewer is $5.42 for the same.
An average residential customer in Springdale pays about $16.97 a month for water and $16.53 for sewer, both based on 5,000 total use, Ward said. After the rate increase, that average bill might increase to $21.45 for water and $21.80 for sewer.
Springdale customers also pay for trash, recycling and bulky waste removal through their water bills, he said.
The utility also provides service to various entities in the area including water service to parts of Johnson and Elm Springs, water and sewer to parts of Lowell and water to customers formerly served by the White River Rural Water System.
Each city's minimum charge is different, Ward said. Customers in Johnson pay $6.70 a month for the first 1,500 gallons, while those in Lowell pay $16.20 a month. White River customers pay $17.42 for 1,000 gallons.
Customers in different cities pay different prices because each has its own contract with the utility. Elm Springs receives only water service. Lowell's monthly sewer fee includes charges to pay off bonds the city holds, Ward said. White River customers pay costs the Springdale utility took on when Springdale and Fayetteville bought the system.
The proposed water rates show a $11.75 base cost for the first 1,500 gallons for customers in other communities. Sewer rates will be $11.25 for the first 1,500 gallons.
Elm Springs Mayor Harold Douthit said Springdale Water serves a small portion of his city with water, including his household.
"For me, as a person, I'm not going to give them grief about raising their water rates," Douthit said. "They are so minimal anyway. Water is cheap."
He said the utility has built the infrastructure and brought water to several newer subdivisions, making the service simple for city administration and residents. The utility even bills Elm Springs customers directly.
"We have leaks, and they come fix them," Douthit said. "We don't even know they're here unless we discover the leak and make the call ourselves."
Industry accounts for about 40 percent of the water and sewer use in Springdale, Ward said. The companies, mostly in the poultry industry, face the same 20 cent raise for water and sewer use as well as the raise to $10 for service.
But customers using large amounts of water and sewer pay on a declining scale. After using 1 million gallons for each, the per-1,000-gallon cost for water goes to $2.80 for water and $2.92 for sewer -- even for individual residential users, Ward added.
Industrial customers are paying $2.60 for water and $2.76 for sewer after a million gallons.
Telephone calls and email messages sent to the Arkansas Poultry Federation, Georges Inc. and the Springdale plant and national headquarters of Cargill in Minnesota seeking comment weren't returned. A Tyson Foods spokesman said he received the request for comment, but didn't respond by Friday.
The commission will present the new rates to the City Council during its Oct. 14 committee meetings. The council is expected to consider the increase in November.
Commission members and utility staff spent two days in July forecasting the utilities' infrastructure needs for five years and 20 years in the future. The rate increase is necessary to pay for meeting those needs, Ward said.
"It's our job to prepare for the future," said Chris Weiser, commission chairman. "And we want to make sure we are good stewards of the public's money."
Utility staff presented a plan in July that sought a 35 cent per thousand gallons rise in rates.
"You all had a bit of sticker shock," said Terry Phillips, chief financial officer for the utility. "The staff sat down and talked about what we really needed, trying also to be sensitive to the rate payers."
The staff Wednesday first proposed a 15 cent increase to both water and sewer rates.
But the account balances would not leave much money to cover rising inflation rates or emergencies -- especially at the end of the five-year rate cycle, Weiser pointed out.
The commission chose to seek the 20 cent increase to ensure the utility's infrastructure keeps up with the predicted population growth and development in the area.
The department currently focuses on three areas of need: bringing water service to the western corridor of Springdale, increasing the capacity of the city's wastewater treatment plant and rehabilitating the water and sanitary system in place to reduce costs, Ward said.
Chris Button of Garver Engineering presented the commissioners with a plan for the all the work needed stretched out over 20 years.
Button said he expects more stringent requirements on the impurities released from the city's wastewater treatment plant. The plant will need two clarification units and generators to power the units. At the completion of the project in 20 years, the total cost will be $37 million in 2019 dollars, he said.
Another project would include installing a 36-inch pipeline to carry water to the west side of town, where officials expect heavy residential and commercial development. The $38 million project would include a water storage tank and would close a loop of pipes, improving water pressure for both fire safety and development.
The loop also provides an alternative for service if part of the line ever goes down, said Rick Pulvirenti, utility chief operating officer.
"To see it all on one page is pretty dramatic," Weiser said. "It's very sobering."
NAN Life on 09/29/2019