Survey: Regional water rate hikes highest in years as supplier systems aging

Water delivery system maintenance costs are increasing, regional distributors said. If that continues, it could mean cuts in infrastructure projects and/or services, one municipal supplier said.

Measures may include “reducing proactive maintenance and infrastructure projects and moving toward reactionary service to ensure our utility continues to run smoothly,” Megan O’Leary of Montgomery County Environmental Services told this news organization.

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Montgomery County had no rate change this year, O’Leary said. It sets water rates for about 85,500 customers in more than 10 jurisdictions, including Centerville, Kettering, and Riverside, plus Miami and Washington townships.

Project costs to maintain that system jumped this year about $97,000 per job on average, county records show.

Other public water distributors serving multiple jurisdictions also said infrastructure maintenance and operation costs factor into rate hikes.

Butler County Water and Sewer Department Director Jim Williams said his department “must have sufficient revenue to ensure the reliability and sustainability of our water system.”

The department’s service area includes the city of Monroe, plus Fairfield, Liberty and West Chester townships, according to its website.

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

Clark County Utilities Department Director Chuck Bauer said inflation, “certainly has increased our department’s operational costs for materials and labor since 2020.

“However, we have not used recent inflationary conditions that may be temporary to drive decisions on long-term rate structures,” he added.

Rate hikes in region

Nearly two-thirds of the 69 jurisdictions in a regional water rate survey this year had increased prices, with an average hike of 4.5% from March 1 last year. That’s the largest increase since 2018′s 5.4%, records show.

The survey by the Piqua Utilities Department included various communities in more than 10 counties stretching from Hamilton County in the south to Auglaize County in the north. The survey does not include townships.

Rates are based on 22,500 gallons or 3,000 cubic feet of water in a three-month period as of March 1, 2024.

Dayton saw a 9.2% increase in this year’s survey, ranking it 25th. The largest percentage hike, according to the data, was in Oakwood, which raised rates late last year for only the third time since 1995. Customers there saw costs jump 49.6% this year, when the largely residential city of about 9,500 completed a $2.1 million water and sewer reconstruction.

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

Oakwood has been among the eight lowest rates since 2013, finishing in the top four six times, including each year since 2021, documents show. This year it was 16th.

Previous surveys have shown average water rate increases from 2019 to last year were 3%, 4.2%, 2.6%, 2.88% and 3.85%, respectively.

In 2023, the survey included 68 jurisdictions, with 37 increasing and 31 staying the same.

Among those not raising rates this year were Bellbrook, Bellefontaine, Springboro and Trotwood, the survey states.

Rates in three communities — Covington, West Alexandria and West Carrollton — decreased, according to the survey.

Minster ($63.75) in Auglaize County had the lowest rate in the survey for the second straight year. Yellow Springs ($371.87) in Greene County was again the highest this year, a spot it has held since 2017, records state.

Ohio’s rank and higher costs

Despite widespread regional rate hikes, Ohio customers’ $27 average monthly water bill ($81 for a three-month period) this year tied it for 12th among U.S. states for being least expensive, according to worldpopulationreview.com. Kansas and New Hampshire have the same rate.

The lowest, according to the website, were Vermont and Wisconsin ($18 monthly, $54 for three months), followed by North Carolina ($20), Louisiana ($21), and Mississippi and Nebraska ($23 each).

The highest were West Virginia ($91 monthly, $273 for three months), California ($77), Oregon ($76), Washington ($75) and New Jersey ($72), according to the rankings.

In southwest Ohio, Montgomery County has spent $20.4 million in the past two years on water system maintenance, its records show. This year it nearly doubled the number of maintenance projects, going from five last year to nine in 2024.

The average cost increase per job jumped by nearly six figures since last year, according to county records.

“In response, we end up absorbing higher costs, potentially delaying projects, or completing them in phases,” O’Leary said.

“If our department were to get to the point where we needed to reduce our spending on capital projects, we will be unable to replace old pipes and pumps, which will lead to more failures, such as main breaks and sewer backups,” she added. “This could mean more interruptions to our customers.”

A “significant number” of Butler County maintenance jobs led to water rate hikes of 3% and 2% in 2022 and 2023, respectively, Williams said.

“We fund … projects from rates and other sources of financing,” Williams said, noting that “projects completed in a specific year are not specifically tied to a rate increase that may occur in specific years.”

By the numbers

•$13.43M: Cost of 2024 Montgomery County Environmental Services water infrastructure projects

•100K plus: Population served by the Butler County Water and Sewer Department

•$97K: Average price increase of Montgomery County water infrastructure projects this year compared to 2023

•$89.91: Springfield’s water rate this year

•$13.29: Drop in West Carrollton water rates from last year to 2024.

Sources: Montgomery County, Butler County and city of Piqua Department of Utilities