Mishawaka officials are making their case for a water rate hike. The average residential customer could expect their monthly water bill to go up by at least two dollars a year for the next five years, under the proposed ordinance.
The city says the water utility faces aging infrastructure, rising costs and stricter regulations, along with more than $43 million in capital needs over the next five years. At the heart of that is the rehabilitation of the Virgil Street Water Treatment Plant, according to Water Division Manager Dave Majewski.
"The filter system at Virgil is 60 years old. It’s at the end of its lifecycle," Majewski told the common council’s budget and finance committee last week. "In fact . . . according to the engineer at WesTech filters, it’s the only known filter system still in existence that’s working of this type.”
If it fails, he said the water utility would have less redundancy for emergencies, which could require water rationing in the summer.
But the proposed rate increase doesn’t account for the federally-mandated replacement of lead service lines and PFAS treatment. Andy Lemberis with engineering firm DLZ said those mandates are currently facing legal challenges. “They are being methodically evaluated and looked at, but we’re being prudent and not spending money before we know how to address the problems,” Lemberis told council members.
The proposed increase to the water portion of the utility bill comes as Mishawaka residents are also seeing increases to the sewer and electric portions. While Mishawaka charges a higher water rate than some of its neighbors, its residents typically have lower electric rates.
Executive Director of Development and Governmental Affairs Matt Lentsch said it’s essential not to raise rates past the point of affordability. “I can tell you that we are going to be careful not to ever get there,” Lentsch promised during last week's meeting.
While the city considers the rate hike, it’s also looking at implementing a new assistance program for residents with lower incomes. Residents who qualify for the Energy Assistance Program would also get a five-percent discount on their water, wastewater and electric bill.
Lentsch said the city would use the list that REAL Services already provides. "We will use what they’ve done, in terms of qualifying people, and they will also then qualify for our ratepayer assistance program," Lentsch told council members. "And that’s about 1,800 people."
Council President Gregg Hixenbaugh felt the new program would ease council members’ concerns about approving another rate hike.
