Water

EDITORIAL

Let’s sum this up at the beginning so you don’t have to wait for the last paragraph to find out what this editorial says.

Rockdale water customers, your monthly bills are about to go up. Again.

That shouldn’t be a surprise. At this time last year we just starting public meetings as the city prepared to try and catch up from more than a half-century of inaction on a water system that is either failing (if you’re an optimist) or has failed (if you’re a realist). It’s estimated up to 40 percent of the water going through our system is lost, due to the state of our pipes.

Rates went up early last year and it’s no secret several years of increases are going to happen to fund about $48-million in water system improvements and about $15-million in a sewer overhaul.

For several months in late 2018 and early 2019 the city was saying the average Rockdale customer’s monthly bill would climb from $73.84 to $106.69 in 2019. And that would be the first of several years of increases. That average bill was forecast to climb to $177.63 by 2023.

The project changed directions a bit in 2019 but nothing happened which would indicate, at this point, that there’s any rate relief for customers.

The change of directions came in two ways.

While the 2019 rate increases were essential to cover $10-million in planning and design of the overall project, the Texas Water Development Board said it wanted to see more than that in 2020.

“They are wanting to see the project’s early phases begin,” City Manager Christ Whittaker said. “So the rate increases this year will need to cover $24-million, not $10-million.”

Another major change is the source of the water. Originally the project called for new treatment plants which could remove the iron and manganese targeted as the source of Rockdale’s legendary “red water.”

But in November the city council agreed to purchase water from Blue Water Systems instead. Representatives of Blue Water said their water comes from much deeper wells, does not contain iron and manganese and meets standards without treatment.

That will cost a little over $12-million, about $2-million more than the new treatment plants.

The point? Be aware. Those water bills are going up again.—M.B.