The Provo City Council is looking into solutions for improving water infrastructure including a potential ordinance that would significantly increase the water rate.
The council has been looking at water rates since mid-2023 “guided by the need to balance affordability for residents, conservation and financial sustainability,” a city staff report said.
The proposed ordinance would amend water fees by adjusting water rates and changing billing to a tiered structure for usage by type and meter size rather than the current seasonal rates.
After discussion and hearing comments from more than a dozen residents in Tuesday’s council meeting, the council voted unanimously to continue the discussion.
Councilman Gary Garrett suggested better education programming so residents can fully understand why the city is looking into this issue and to gather more information from residents about their ideas on how to proceed.
“One thing has been clear … is that we haven’t been very thorough at establishing the need with our residents about maintaining this delivery system of water. There are things we can do to better communicate with our residents about what needs to be done,” Garrett said.
The reason for an increase stems from Provo’s aging water infrastructure. Approximately 16% of the pipes in Provo were installed before 1955, and another 38% were installed between 1956 and 1990, according to data presented by consultant Keith Larson.
Larson said that based on the expected service life of Provo’s water system, the city should be investing at least $14 million a year into it. Currently, Provo only invests around $9 million.
The water hikes would produce revenue for operation and maintenance costs, which have increased from inflation, and to address replacement and repairs of the aging water system. Additionally, the city’s Water Master Plan recommends around $80 million worth of capital projects to maintain the level of service in water infrastructure and address planned growth, according to Larson.
The proposal included a 12% rate increase for 2025, which would equate to about $6 more a month for the average water user. Each year the rate would continue to increase at least 6% through 2033 to help catch the city up to the recommended level of funding.
Larson said spreading the increase out over the next nine years would maintain service at an affordable price while proactively replacing an aging system, which he said is cheaper in the long term compared to reactively replacing pipes after they break.
Along with the water rate increase, the proposal would change billing to a tiered structure, meaning “more expensive water will be charged at a higher rate and less expensive water will be charged at its actual rate, and it creates a fairer cost structure,” water resource director Gary Calder said.
The tiered structure would include a base rate of around $23, then for the first tier charge $1.46 per thousand gallons for up to 10,000 gallons used. Larson said this would cover the average household’s essential indoor uses.
In the second tier, it would cost $2.27 per thousand gallons for 10,000 to 55,000 gallons used. This covers the typical outdoor water use, Larson said. The third tier for higher levels of water use would cost $3.97 per thousand gallons above 55,000 gallons used.
The tiers vary in volume brackets depending on meter size, but would cost the same per thousand gallons, Larson said.
Provo resident Valerie Paxman acknowledged the need for improvements on the water system, but “it is too much” with inflation, rising bills and increased taxes.
James Robertson owns an acre of land with dozens of fruit trees and a garden on it. He and another resident asked if the city could make exceptions for people who need extra water for beneficial land uses such as agriculture.
“It’s been hard enough to pay what I’ve been paying, and I don’t know how to handle the substantial increase,” Robertson said.
Other residents suggested implementing conservation programs to reward residents who use less water, not penalizing people who let their yards die when they can’t afford water, or evaluating the water rate increases yearly rather than implementing an almost decade-long increase.
Councilwoman Rachel Whipple said it’s disappointing when the council works on something for more than a year and a proposal gets this far in the process, then they are flooded with calls about something being “out of the blue.”
She encouraged everyone to be involved in city issues and participate in meetings because “we do want you to be involved. We do want to hear because your information helps us make better decisions.”
The council did not specify when the issue would be brought up for discussion again.