WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The cost of providing water and sewer services in Wichita has gone up more than expected. So, the Wichita City Council is being asked to pass some of the costs on to customers.
The city has been using the same rate plan since December 2019. On Tuesday, Gary Janzen, director of Wichita Public Works and Utilities, told the council that the 2019 plan is no longer sustainable due to rising inflation and staffing costs.
He recommends a 6.14% rate hike in 2025. For residential customers who don’t use much water, it would be an increase of $3.21 a month. Mid-level users would pay $4.79 more a month, and high-volume users would pay $9.59 more a month.
Janzen said the potential rate hike is not due to the new water treatment plant, which will begin operation next year.
“When we talk about where we’re going with the recommended rate increase, none of it has to do with the capital costs, that nearly $600 million cost of the facility, but it does include the need for some additional operational support and staffing,” he said.
He said the department planned for three percent inflation on operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, but the actual inflation rate has been much higher. The average cost of O&M for water services has increased 10 percent in the past three years, and sewer costs have gone up seven percent.
Janzen said chemical costs have shot up $2 million in the past three years.
The city council is expected to vote on a potential rate hike before the end of the year.
The Wichita City Council will also eventually have to decide what to do with the old water treatment plant. It will remain online for several months after the new water plant takes over water treatment, but it will stop being used sometime in 2026.
City staff recommends that it be maintained in case of an emergency, such as if a tornado should hit the new plant.
“We have an opportunity to mitigate some of that risk of catastrophe with this current water plant,” Laura Quick, Public Works & Utilities, said. “It doesn’t have to be used in that way, but it does hold some value for mitigating a potential risk.”
She told the council that they do not have to make a decision this year but at some point next year.
