Water Rates Go Up in City

Councilors Chuck Wilkins, Lonnie Clayton and Mark Scott, who were elected last spring, have said the city urgently needs money to fix its aging water pipeline network. A consultant’s study released in September showed water rates and fees aren’t sufficient to meet operating expenses and keep pace with the growing city’s needs.

	What to expect What the water rate changes will mean for households bills: - At 5,000 gallons per month, the annual amount spent on water increases from $726 to $1,090 in 2017. - At 7,000 gallons per month, from $1,102 to $1,669 in 2017. - At 12,000 gallons per month, from $1,473 to $2,321 in 2017. Other increases will raise monthly service charges: - For 5/8th-inch meter (for most residential customers), from $7.84 to $8.53. - Wastewater service charge from $10.08 to $10.97. Charge for opening or reactivating an account rise from $25 to $45. Reconnection fee increases from $50 to $75.

Information provided by the city showed Rio Rancho lost an estimated 5 million gallons of water in 2011 due to water main breaks and leaks.

Changes the council approved will also affect the tier structure for the volume of water used, reducing the maximum for the lowest monthly charge from 10,000 gallons to 6,000 gallons. The middle tier limit is now 7,000 to 10,000 gallons instead of 10,001 to 19,999 gallons. The highest volume charge now applies to those using more than 10,000 gallons per month.

The changes mean monthly rates would increase from $3.62 to $3.94 per 1,000 gallons for the lowest tier, from $3.92 to $4.27 for the middle tier and from $4.22 to $4.60 for the highest tier, according to a council briefing memo.

Mayor Tom Swisstack said previous councils did not ignore the water pipe problems but limited rate increases in recent years to between 3.3 percent and 5 percent because of the tough economy. He asked whether the city staff could find a way to limit the size of the increase.

Wilkins defended the need for money now.

“I was elected to fix this (situation), not to keep pushing it down the road,” he said.

The increases also will affect two businesses that use treated wastewater, Chamisa Hills Golf Course and Vista Verde Memorial Park. Now, the golf course pays 47 cents per 1,000 gallons, and Vista Verde pays 49 cents. The new rate would be $2.30 per 1,000 gallons, or 50 percent of the commercial irrigation water rate, rising to 70 percent in 2017.

Swisstack said the increase might harm those businesses. He suggested the utility commission should get more input from the businesses and homeowners who live around the golf course.

Wilkins countered that the rate meant other utility customers were subsidizing those businesses.

“The cost of providing water to the golf course is born by the rest of the ratepayers,” city Public Works Director Sensanbaugher confirmed.

The new rate will affect Vista Verde in February. Chamisa Hills will not feel the effect until June 2014, when its water contract with the city expires.
— This article appeared on page 12 of the Albuquerque Journal