CORDRY-SWEETWATER — Water customers and residents of the Cordry-Sweetwater Conservancy District can expect a 37 percent increase in water-related rates and fees across the board if the conservancy district’s board of directors approves the rate increase at a meeting this month.

The rate increase will be voted on at the Tuesday, Feb. 21 meeting. A legal notice from the conservancy anticipates that the average user will see an increase of around $12.50 to their monthly water bill. The minimum cost of water service will go from $17.17 to $23.56.

Part of the increase reflects a 16 percent increase in the water rate from Prince’s Lakes, said Herb Benshoof, vice chairman of the conservancy board and a member of the water commission.

The remaining increase is to cover around $2.27 million in planned and ongoing improvements to the water system in the conservancy.

Much of the current system is around 50 years old and is in need of an upgrade, Benshoof said.

But water bills aren’t the only place Cordry residents will see an increase.

The conservancy district also charges an annual fee to all property owners for maintaining fire hydrants, said Josh Hawley, water/grounds superintendent.

That fee is included in the annual property tax bill for each parcel in the district and allows the conservancy district to maintain a fire hydrant within 1,500 feet of each residence.

The hydrant fee will go up by about 37 percent as well, from $607.76 per year to $833.98 per year, according to the legal notice. Conservancy residents will see their annual property tax bill increase by $226.22 for each parcel of land they own.

Though it is initially deposited to the conservancy district’s general fund, along with property taxes, the entire hydrant fee is paid out to the water utility, Hawley said.

Other fees are increasing as well.

The new service connection fee, the road bore fee — charged when connection requires boring under a road to install pipe — the meter deposit fee and the disconnect fee are all increasing by about 37 percent.

Increasing fees related to connecting and disconnecting water service is simply a matter of keeping up with rising costs, Hawley said.

None of the conservancy’s fees related to water service have been raised in at least seven years, he said.

The new

The improvements that residents can expect were laid out in the conservancy’s newsletter in September, Benshoof said.

They include installing 17,000 feet of new, 10-inch water main; replacing the booster pump station and adding emergency power backup; improving to the blue, 100,000-gallon storage tank; replacing around 1,300 water meters; and making other replacements and upgrades to control and operational components.

The original plan also included a new connection to the Brown County Water Utility’s system as an emergency backup, Hawley said.

However, Brown County Water Utility’s current infrastructure will not support that option.

If the Brown County Water Utility runs additional, larger mains in the area around the conservancy district in the future they may revisit that option, Hawley said.

The conservancy district board has applied for a 20-year loan through the State Revolving Loan Fund, Benshoof said. He was uncertain of the specific interest rate when interviewed, but believed it would be around 2 percent.

The portion of the rate increase not related to the Prince’s Lakes increase — 21 of the 37 percent — would go to pay back that loan.

“We’ve been looking at this for a few years,” Benshoof said.

In order to maintain reliable water service, the board concluded that aging infrastructure needs to be replaced or updated, he said.

While they do not know how many total leaks may have developed along the main over the years, the expectation is that the new main will reduce losses and improve efficiency, he said.

In addition, many of the meters that will be replaced are around five years past the age when they begin to lose reliability, Hawley said.

The new meters have no moving parts to wear out, allow for remote reading and have warranties for 20 years.

“We’re trying to make sure we do this right, with the right pieces to make it a long term. You can’t predict the future, but we painted the other water tower a few years back, so you look around, and we’re down to the service mains and some of the service lines,” Benshoof said.

“So, we should be in really, really good shape, as a utility, to supply customers reliable water for a long time.”