Seeking to continue to provide for the growing community’s water needs, Sioux Center Municipal Utilities water rates are increasing slightly this fall.
The rate change, which will go into effect in customer’s October bills, starting with usage around Aug. 24, is about 5% overall, less for most residential customers. An average home will see about a $1 increase in their water bill.
“We’ve had a lot of expansion of our city and we are addressing aging infrastructure,” said Utilities Manager Murray Hulstein. “These rate changes help us continue to work to provide for our customers’ water needs and Sioux Center’s future in a stewardly way.”
The new rates were proposed in July by a professional rate analyst following a study and were approved last week by the Sioux Center City Council. A second similar rate increase was approved for 2022. The rate changes are designed to better allocate water system costs among users and prepare for system improvements ahead.
The overall 5% increase in water rates is designed to help pay for:
- System improvements and maintenance, including replacing aging water mains
- Sioux Center’s planned connection to the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System’s supply of high-quality water in spring of 2023
- Future growth including a new water tower planned for southern Sioux Center as the community continues to grow
Sioux Center’s water rates continue to be made up of two parts. First, all users have a fixed per-month rate that allows for the fixed costs of providing water to Sioux Center. Second, all users have a volume-related rate, which allows users to pay according to their use. The new rates adjust the fixed and volume-related rates to help better allocate costs to users that have larger meter sizes and demand more from the system.
“This approach is directed by our rate study as a more accurate way to share costs among our customers,” Hulstein said.