Last night the Council approved raising water and sewage rates to cover ever increasing expenses. We had received a couple briefings on the need to do so, the most recent at a work session (links to view the video and the presentation are below). Primarily, it was the rising wholesale price of water that forced us to pass on that cost.
 
Actually, we weren't forced to pass on the cost — we could have chosen to subsidize the cost and take the money to do so from something else. It's not a good business model and I strongly doubt there could be many in the community that would think that a good idea. However, a number of cities, including in North Texas, do currently charge less than their cost. In many cases that is because the city has not yet adjusted their rates to cover increasing costs. The average utility has been increasing rates 5-6% per year, according to a presentation shown to Council.

Projected increases for NTMWD water. Chart from August, 2008, post.

 
As I shared last August, the cost of water that we buy from the North Texas Municipal Water District keeps increasing. There are many valid reasons for the increases. The cost of capturing water and delivering it to Garland and many of our neighboring cities requires long-range planning and new infrastructure, such as the artificial wetlands constructed along the Trinity River below Dallas captures and returns clean water to Lake Lavon. The return pipeline has an 80-inch diameter.
 
Other water projects include bringing more water from East Texas reservoirs to address the continually rising demand from a increasing population and to have reserves for drought years.
 
The water district is also constructing an ozonation plant for service starting 2013. According to NTMWD, ozonation very effectively inactivates Cryptosporidium, bacteria and other naturally-occurring organisms. Ozonation can reduce the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs), which result from the interaction of chlorine and naturally-occurring organic material in the source water. And the process will make the water taste better.
 
The average Garland customer uses 8000 gallons each month and is billed $25.18. That puts us below many area cities. With the increase, that bill will be $28.28.
 
The increased rates do maintain our conservation levels adopted a couple years ago. Usage below 3000 gallons per month is the cheapest, then below 15,000, and usage over that is the highest. The conservation tiers have encouraged lower usage, which will help save the need for new infrastructure over time.
 
Similarly, waste water rates were also increased. It is necessary to finance the capital improvements made in recent and coming years. Compared to the same cities, we are among the highest. Much of our primary infrastructure and treatment plants have all been renovated and expanded. Over the next few years, we should start to compare much better to other cities that will be playing catch-up.
 
To watch the presentation made to Council and to download a PDF copy of the PowerPoint, following the links below:
 

Streaming Video: Water and Waste Water Rate Study (Item 2a)

Presentation