Water and sewer customers of the city of St. Joseph will soon see their rates go up. At a Monday meeting, city commissioners approved rate hikes that will average 8.9% for residential customers. City Manager John Hodgson told us this is needed for a variety of infrastructure projects planned in the coming years.
“What we’re seeing on the city’s residential side is primarily additional costs associated with replacement of lead water service lines, both the public and private sides,” Hodgson said. “What we’re seeing on the sewer side is due to the combined sewer separation and the need to build a storage tank at the end of that project.”
The rate increase is also to cover improvements at the water plant. In all, the city has about $69 million in water and sewer infrastructure work planned for the next six years. This means there will be additional rate increases. For now, the average customer will see their quarterly bill go up by about $18, or $75 per year.
