A proposed increase in water and sewer rates for Grantsville City was reviewed by the city council during a work meeting Wednesday night.
The city council reviewed two options for an increase in water rates, which have remained the same since 1996. Residents currently pay $15 for the first 7,000 gallons of water usage, then 70 cents for each additional 1,000 gallons.
Under the option recommended by the city council, the residential base rate would increase to $20.40. Customers would also pay for every 1,000 gallons used, on an increasing scale.
The first 10,000 gallons used would be billed at 50 cents per 1,000 gallons, then the rate would increase to $1 per 1,000 gallons from 10,001 gallons to 30,000 gallons.
For 30,001 to 50,000 gallons, the price per 1,000 gallons used would be $1.50 and the rate increases to $2 for every 1,000 gallons above 50,000 gallons used.
A homeowner who uses 8,000 gallons per month would pay $15.70 under current water rates. Under the proposed water rates, the same homeowner would be on the hook for $24.40.
The base rate for commercial users would be $32.89 and $57.83 for churches. The city’s schools would be charged a base rate of $94.21. The rate per 1,000 gallons would follow the same scale for all users.
Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall said the higher base rates for commercial property, churches and schools are determined by the size of the water meter.
“They had meters that didn’t register if it was just a low flow that went through,” Marshall said. “They now make a low flow meter so that if someone flushes a toilet or something like that, it registers. Where on some of the older meters, it would just slide through and it was never charged for that.”
The state Division of Water Resources assisted the city’s finance department in calculating the proposed water rates. State law passed in 2016 requires the city to have an increasing water rate structure to encourage water conservation.
The city’s sewer rate is also being reviewed for an increase, with a proposed increase of the monthly residential user fee from $25 to $28. Commercial users base fee could rise to $25 from $20, with the commercial usage fee rising 25 cents to $1.75.
The city council also recommended an annual 2-percent increase to water and sewer rates to keep pace with inflation. The annual increase would be reviewed by the city council every year.
The city’s Main Street water and sewer project, expected to cost as much as $8 million, is one reason for the water and sewer rate increases. Marshall said the loan secured by the city for the project requires it to have one year of debt payments — approximately $200,000 — set in reserve within the first six years of payments.
Other possible capital projects in the future, including the replacement of aging and deteriorating water lines, would be funded by the increased revenue. A severely corroded piece of water pipe from a line off of Main Street was on display at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Grantsville City Finance Director Sherrie Broadbent suggested beginning the new sewer rate in September but hold off raising water rates until next January.
There will be a public hearing on the proposed sewer and water rate increases at the city council’s Aug. 15 meeting. The city council can vote on the proposed increase during the same meeting following the public hearing.