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11.27.00 Water rates may rise Metropolitan Utilities District customers would pay 3 percent more for water -- less than $5 a year for the average household -- under the utility's proposed $309.7 million budget for 2001. The increase could be the last one M.U.D. customers pay toward the construction of a proposed water-treatment plant on the Platte River, if cost estimates for the $293 million facility hold and the utility receives a federal permit as expected in 2002. "Based on the numbers we have now, it appears we will not have to have any additional rate increases beyond this point," said Jerry Radek, M.U.D.'s general manager. The proposed rate increase, which would take effect April 1, would raise the annual bill of an average residential customer who uses 110,000 gallons a year from $157.41 to $162.09, an increase of $4.68. The M.U.D. Board will hold a public hearing on its proposed budget, including the rate increase, Friday at 8:30 a.m. at its headquarters at 1723 Harney St. The utility has raised water rates from 3 percent to 5.5 percent every year since 1993 to support the new treatment plant. Other plant-related increases date to 1978. The water-rate increases have allowed the utility to set aside money to begin building the plant, creating a fund estimated to total $90.1 million at the end of this year and $104.9 million by the end of 2001. The fund will reduce the amount the utility must borrow for the plant, Radek said. "By controlling the amount we have to borrow, the customer will see the benefits in keeping the rates low in the future," Radek said. "If we didn't have this money, we'd probably have to raise rates substantially, probably to a higher level than it is now." The new plant would add 100 million gallons a day to M.U.D.'s current treatment capacity of 234 million gallons. Radek said the plant is needed to keep up with growth in the metropolitan area, growth that already has pinched the utility's ability to meet peak demand during hot, dry periods. If the utility receives a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers in 2002, the plant could go on line in 2007. The plant would be built at 216th and Q Streets and draw water from wells along the Platte River in western Douglas and eastern Saunders Counties. Even with the rate increases, Radek said, M.U.D.'s average residential customer still would pay less for water next year than in 1978, when adjusted for inflation. A comparison by M.U.D. indicates that the utility's rates rank among the lowest in the Midwest, including those paid by customers in Council Bluffs, Des Moines and Lincoln. Another big item in the proposed budget is $46.1 million to cover the higher prices the utility expects to pay for natural gas next year. Natural gas costs have increased significantly in national markets. Between colder weather and higher gas costs, the average residential customer's bill in November will be nearly twice what it was in November 1999. The cost of the gas is passed directly to customers. MUD hasn't raised its base rate for supplying natural gas since 1992. The $46.1 million is based on forecasts for a normal winter. The higher gas costs contributed to the utility raising its overall proposed budget from $272.1 million last year to $309.7 million in 2001, an increase of 13.8 percent. M.U.D. provides water to nearly 170,000 customers in the Omaha metro area.
The annual cost of water for the average residential customer, who uses 110,000 gallons of water per year, would increase $4.68 from $157.41 to $162.09 on April 1, 2001. Even with the proposed rate increase, M.U.D. customer-owners will continue to enjoy among the lowest water rates in the Midwest. One penny buys 10 gallons of M.U.D. tap water.
*As of April 1, 2000. M.U.D. water meters measure use in ccfs and these are shown as billing units on the statement. One ccf = 100 cubic feet of water or 748 gallons. |
Summer water use in metro area Construction Progress Photos Water Plant Wellfield: |
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