Water Works approves rate increase

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Des Moines Water Works will need more money and improved infrastructure to produce the same amount of water in 2015, according to the annual budget approved Tuesday by the board of trustees.

Next year will bring a 7 percent rate increase for Des Moines customers and 5 percent for neighboring communities.

That money will help offset the cost of improvements to aging infrastructure and water quality challenges in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, according to officials with the utility company.

Total expenses in 2015 will top $55 million — $18.4 million for capital improvements and $36.8 million for general operations. The latter represents a 4.5 percent increase from the current year. Budget projections for next year plan for 17 billion gallons of water to be pumped through the facility, the same as 2014.

Graham Gillette, chairman of Water Works' board, said a record number of water main breaks in 2014 is partly responsible for the rate increase. Money from the 2015 budget, which starts Jan. 1, will retroactively cover unexpected costs incurred this year.

"We had more line breaks in January than we generally have in an entire year. Then we kept on pace the rest of the year," Gillette said.

RELATED: The Register's Editorial: Not surprisingly, D.M. water rates are rising | Des Moines again struggling with nitrates in water

The issues, he said, stemmed from one of the coldest winters in decades, but also point to an overall aging infrastructure that needs improvements, including areas that received only temporary emergency repairs this past winter.

"We've decided as a board 'make these upgrades now, spend the money and put it in the budget so we can get past that,' " Gillette said.

The 2015 water rate increase will take effect April 1, 2015. A 7 percent jump for Des Moines customers translates to roughly $1.65 more a month for the average family of four.

Infrastructure aside, waterworks officials and board members expressed concern about increasing costs to treat water coming from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, the two water sources that feed the waterworks facility.

Nitrate concentrations in both rivers reached historic highs this month that may require activation of an expensive de-nitrification system.

That treatment process has never been activated in the fall, but it is sometimes necessary in the spring when excessive rain runoff from farm fields fills streams with fertilizer, according to Bill Stowe, CEO and general manager of waterworks.

He emphasized that water source quality carries a direct impact on water treatment costs based on labor, chemical use and other efforts.

"The water we continue to produce is now safe. And it will be safe. It's a matter of the expense to our rate payers for keeping it safe," Stowe said.

Waterworks board member Susan Huppert said she was struck by $4.5 million in next year's operating budget that is allocated for chemicals and treatment.

"Although this is a huge amount, it could be even worse if we don't do something," Huppert said. "We do know how we can control that and that is by having cleaner source water coming down."

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...ease/70133136/


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