Tuesday, September 5, 2000
Water cost to drain wallets
Rates increasing for Big Country;
sources dwindling
By John Starbuck
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Ballinger residents should consider themselves
lucky that their water rates are rising only $1 per 1,000 gallons,
city officials say.
For 16 years, the town didn’t raise
water rates. That changed when Ballinger decided to draw water
from the Colorado River and to develop a well field to supplement
its diminishing water supply. Water is already being taken from
the well field and town leaders hope to tap the river in December,
if not sooner.
Despite the increase from $3 per 1,000 gallons
to $4 for consuming more than 3,000 gallons, Ballinger City Hall
hasn’t been flooded with complaints over the new rate, which
was fueled by the drought.
“I think everyone right now just feels
lucky to have the water that we do have,” said Tommy New,
Ballin-ger’s city manager.
Water rates are increasing for many Big
Country residents as towns prepare to develop additional sources
of water through the construction of pipelines, treatment plants
and well fields.
Frank Sturzl, executive director of the
Texas Municipal League, said water rates are rising statewide.
The league assists Texas cities affected by state and federal
issues.
“Years ago, the water supplies were
plentiful, our population was a lot lower and water was dirt cheap,”
he said. “But it’s not anymore. In terms of finding
a dependable water supply, cities are having to look a little
farther and dig a little deeper.”
As long as towns must pay more to get water,
residents are going to feel the financial pinch because the costs
must be absorbed.
“I think it’s safe to say that
the days of cheap water are over,” Sweetwater City Manager
David Maddox said.
Stamford City Manager Ken Roberson agreed,
adding, “I think everybody in this part of the world is going
to find out how much water is really worth.”
Funneling the funds
Building pipelines, developing well fields
and improving treatment plants require towns to set their water
rates at levels that will generate enough revenue to pay for such
projects.
Maddox said a town’s water rates cover
expenses of operating the water department.
“As long as we can make that balance
between revenue and expenses, then we won’t change the rates,”
he said.
Clyde’s water rates didn’t change
this year and won’t in 2001. The only difference is a $2
surcharge, added to the $3 charge for every 1,000 gallons used,
that the city council approved this summer to pay for buying water
from Abilene.
Lee Roy George, Clyde’s city administrator,
said his town derives a “good chunk” of revenue —
enough to fund about 35 percent of the total budget — through
water rates.
“To keep the city running, we would
have to raise taxes or raise the water rates,” he said.
Rates can remain steady for a long time
if a town has no projects on the horizon.
Breckenridge City Secretary Linda Knight
said the revenue that towns generate through water rates is not
enough to fund big capital improvements entirely. Breckenridge
raised its rates by 3 percent in March to pay for repairs and
general costs at the water treatment plant.
“It’s pretty much break even,”
she said. “It’s not a money-making project, I guarantee
you.”
When towns buy water from a water district,
the district’s expenses are included in the cost of water.
Eastland City Manager Paul Catoe calls that a “double whammy.”
“We pay for the cost of the improvements
to the district and also the improvements we make here in town,”
he said.
Sweetwater will raise its rates by $4 for
every 5,000 gallons used and $9 for usage of more than 10,000
gallons in October to start raising the money needed to pay for
a water treatment plant, an estimated $10 million project, and
a well field, a $6.7 million venture.
The Abilene City Council will also consider
raising rates to fund construction of a pipeline and treatment
plant to move and treat water from O.H. Ivie Reservoir. Abilene
City Manager Roy McDaniel has projected that water rates could
double to pay for the $60 million project.
Water rates in Colorado City rose for five
years straight to pay for a water treatment plant, finance director
Connie Ponko said. As the project’s debt rose, so did water
rates to cover the interest and principle. She added that the
debt has since leveled out.
Stamford officials have held water rates
steady for about four years. But that may change if the town gets
a federal loan for a $6.3 million project to send water from the
California Creek watershed to Lake Stamford, said Roberson, the
city manager.
The town could, during a big rain, capture
the fluid in the watershed and retain it for as-needed transfer
to Lake Stamford, which is adjacent to the watershed.
General project costs are rising and “we’ve
got a lot of work to do,” he said.
Like Clyde, Brownwood’s rates won’t
change this year or next.
A portion of an approximate $13 million,
five-year project that includes new water towers in Brownwood
is being funded with money borrowed from the Texas Water Development
Board. City Manager Gary Butts said the debt, for the time being,
is being paid with revenue from existing water rates.
“Historically, we have raised the rates
in small amounts to keep up with the cost of doing business,”
he said. “Our rates are set by the needs of the system. We
do look at how we compare with other cities and sometimes we might
be in the mid-range and sometimes we might be higher.”
Contact regional writer John
Starbuck at (800) 588-6397, 676-6728 or starbuckj@abinews.com.
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