New water and sewer rate structure would shift costs by customer type, usage, study says

CASPER, Wyo. — The City of Casper is expected to consider a new water and sewer rate system when it goes to set annual rates at the end of the year.

The proposal is meant to keep up with rising operating and maintenance costs and shift costs onto high-volume users, according to the presentation at a work session Tuesday by Todd Cristiano of Raftelis Financial Consultants and Tom Brauer, the city’s chief operating officer.

The overall goal is to increase revenues by 6% per year over the next five years.

“The idea is, if you use a reasonable amount of water, we charge you the lowest rate possible to maintain the infrastructure,” said Brauer, explaining that maintenance costs were directly related to high usage.

For water, there is currently a monthly charge of $10.17 for all customers inside the city for the first 1,500 gallons, according to the info packet. Then it’s $2.40 for the next 500 gallons. The rates are slightly higher outside of the city.

The new system eliminates the allowance and creates three classes of water user: commercial, residential and irrigation. There would be four tiers of residential customer based on usage, with the lowest-volume users inside the city paying $3.04 per 1,000 gallons, and the highest-volume residence paying $7.60 per 1,000 gallons.

Bruaer said he always notices when sprinkler water is running down the gutter, and said the proposed rates would encourage people to conserve.

Commercial customers would pay a straight $4 per 1,000 gallons. Cristiano explained that businesses typically use the same amount of water year-round. Irrigation users would pay $7.60. There would also be a category for parks water usage: $4.74 per 1,000 gallons.

“It’s a big switch,” Cristiano said. “Some bills might go down, others might go up.”

The presentation included a breakdown of the proposed structure’s impacts in the first year on current customers. The typical low-volume-using residence currently pays $43 a month for both water and sewer. The proposed structure would make that $47, according to the consultants’ report. Average-volume residences would pay the same in the first year, according to the presentation.

Brauer, who worked with Cristiano over the course of the study, said the models presented assume a 4% annual increase in the cost to purchase the water from the Central Wyoming Regional water system, as well the detachment of capital expenditures from one-cent funds.

No formal action was requested of council, though they are expected to consider implementation near the end of the year.