Water and sewer customers across Mobile and the surrounding area are facing another rate increase in the new year. The Mobile Area Water and Sewer System’s board of directors has approved a 2015 budget that includes a 5 percent hike in monthly bills, adding roughly $2.35 to the average residential customer’s payment starting January 1.
The increase is part of a five-year plan the utility’s board first approved in 2011, calling for annual 5 percent rate hikes to help fund upgrades to aging pipes and treatment facilities across the system. Under the new rates, a typical residential customer using about 5,000 gallons a month will see their bill climb from roughly $50.95 to $53.30. One more increase is scheduled for 2016, which would bring the average bill to about $55.80 a month.
Utility officials say the additional revenue, expected to generate around $3.8 million in 2015 alone, is critical to addressing infrastructure that has aged well past its intended lifespan. Much of the system’s underground pipe network and treatment infrastructure was built decades ago and requires ongoing repair and replacement to keep pace with demand and avoid service failures.
The utility’s service area extends beyond the city of Mobile itself, reaching into unincorporated parts of Mobile County as well as Spanish Fort, Prichard and Chickasaw. Residents and businesses throughout that footprint will see the increase reflected on their bills.
Some of the new revenue is earmarked for a treatment plant on McDuffie Island, where a $20 million bond issued earlier in the year is being repaid through the rate increases. Officials say the overall 2015 operating budget totals more than $57 million, with a growing share going toward outside contractors and consultants brought in to help manage capital projects and day-to-day operations. Utility leadership has said they hope to reduce reliance on outside contracting over time as staffing and internal processes are reevaluated.
The rate hikes are separate from ongoing conversations about the financially troubled Prichard Water system. Earlier in 2014, Mobile’s utility board considered absorbing that system but ultimately declined, citing concerns over tens of millions of dollars in existing contractual obligations tied to the Prichard system’s private operator. Officials emphasized that decision has no bearing on the new rate structure approved for MAWSS customers.
Utility leaders say they will reassess the need for further increases once the current five-year plan concludes in 2016, weighing the pace of infrastructure repairs against the financial burden placed on ratepayers. For now, customers throughout the greater Mobile area should expect to see the new rates reflected on bills beginning with the first billing cycle of the new year.