SAN ANTONIO – SAWS asked city council Wednesday to consider another rate hike that could make water bills even higher next year.
The average hike would be about 10%, making the average homeowner’s monthly water bill increase from about $50 to about $55.
SAWS representatives told city council it needs the extra money to pay for infrastructure improvements required by the EPA, particularly for the sewage system.
“Mainly what that’s going to do is investing more in televising sewer lines, cleaning them and replacing lines that are damaged,” SAWS spokesperson Anne Hayden said.
Even with the rate hike, San Antonio would still have lower water rates than Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.
But wastewater bills rose about $10 over the past decade, and that’s just a portion of the total bill.
"San Antonio has some of the lowest rates in the state,” Hayden said. “We're trying to keep it that way, but we're really having to invest in our infrastructure right now."
SAWS implemented two water rate hikes in 2012. The first kicked in on January 1, adding $3.43 to bills. The second came in April and added $1.78 to bills.
SAWS would like city council to vote on the issue sometime next spring.
There will be several meetings scheduled in the meantime for ratepayers to give input.
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