El Paso Water customers would see their water and sewer rates increase for a sixth consecutive year in March if proposed 2% rate increases are approved.

The plan would increase the average residential water bill by $1.11 per month for a total average bill of $60.36, El Paso Water officials said.

The $4.25 monthly residential charge for the city's stormwater system would remain the same. This would be the third year it remained unchanged.

Most commercial water bills would increase $1.79 per month to a total $90.71 per month, not including the commercial stormwater charge.

The utility's financial plan called for a 5% increase in water and sewer rates and a 3% increase in the stormwater charge, but the proposed rate increases were reduced to limit the impact to customers during the pandemic, according to the El Paso Water's budget presentation. 

“To lessen the impact on ratepayers, we propose small, incremental rate increases every year,” Marcela Navarrete, vice president of strategic, financial and management services, said in a statement. “This prevents a large increase down the road if we went too long without a rate increase, and helps us continue to deliver on reliable and sustainable services."

While higher rates would add to water bills, the average residential water bill actually decreased since last year because of less water consumption this year, a utility official said. The average monthly bill was $60.95 in December 2019, and it currently is $59.25, El Paso Water data show. 

The city-owned utility's proposed $506.8 million budget for water, sewer and stormwater services for the next fiscal year, which includes the proposed increase in water and sewer rates, were presented by utility staff to the El Paso Public Service Board at an online, public hearing Monday evening.

The budget is $14 million higher than the current $492.8 million budget.

The PSB at its Dec. 9 online meeting will look at options for also possibly increasing the stormwater charge to allow for completion of additional flood-control projects, according to an El Paso Water official. The board is scheduled to take final action on the budget and rates Jan. 13. The proposed budget will not be presented to the board again at the Dec. 9 meeting as indicated in the previous version of this story. 

The new budget and rates are to begin March 1.

The increase in rates is primarily driven by projects to secure the city's future water supply, increase the reliability of the utility's water and sewer systems, and expand the utility's systems into new areas, according to an El Paso Water news release.

The first phase of a three-year project to recharge the Hueco Bolson aquifer is to begin next year. When completed, the project will allow El Paso Water to put treated Rio Grande water into the aquifer in years when the city has plentiful water resources, utility officials said.

The aquifer becomes more important during years when the Rio Grande is low on water, John Balliew, El Paso Water chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The first, $14.3 million phase of the $25 million project will be excavation and construction of a water infiltration system along a 1.3-mile stretch of arroyo in Northeast El Paso. That also will provide green space and trails along the arroyo, officials said.

Other construction projects next year will include drilling new water wells, rehabilitating several water tanks, and upgrades to several sewage-treatment and water-treatment plants.