Springfield sewer service customers can expect to see a 3 percent increase in their monthly City Utilities bills beginning in August.
The increase will help the city's aging sewer system to remain in compliance with Clean Water Act regulations, according to a news release from the city.
The 3 percent increase will equate to an additional $1.18 per month for an average user. The rate increase takes effect July 1, but will be reflected in August CU bills.
The latest increase comes two years after the 2021 amended consent judgment of the city’s Supplemental Overflow Control Plan — a $300 million, 15-year plan to “implement state and federally mandated upgrades, rehabilitation, and enhancement of the City’s wastewater collection and treatment system to minimize capacity-related sewer overflows and treatment plant bypasses and their negative impact on water quality.”
Work on the Overflow Control plan includes the recent $8 million investment in sewer mains along Pea Ridge Creek and Doling Branch in north Springfield.
The investment program is expected to require additional rate adjustments aligned with inflation, according to the release.
The 3 percent increase is the first of several increases of a rate structure that was approved by the Springfield City Council in February 2023, and will continue through 2025.
According to the release, Springfield’s sewer rates are expected, for the foreseeable future, to remain lower compared to other cities.
Because the majority of residents’ water ends up in the wastewater system, sewer rates are determined by averaging water usage in January through March, thus avoiding heavy summer water usage tasks like watering your lawn or filling a swimming pool, according to the release.
While contracted through CU, Springfield’s Department of Environmental Services charges a base cost, and an additional charge for every 100 cubic feet of water used.