DES MOINES, Iowa — Some Des Moines Water Works customers will be seeing higher water bills starting next year. The Board of Trustees approved the new rates at its board meeting on Tuesday.
Under the previous structure, the more water customers used, the less they paid per gallon. The new structure uses a tiered system, where people who use more water pay more per gallon.
Customers who use 6,000 gallons per month will see rates rise only by about 11 cents per month. It goes up from there, with customers who use 20,000 gallons in a month paying $39.50 more per month.
The good news is customers who use less than 6,000 gallons of water in a month won’t see any changes and could even save some money.
“The main point of this is to make sure that we're recovering costs from those users who are placing the demands on the system,” Amy Kahler, Des Moines Water Works chief financial officer, told Local 5.
It's a decision that has some Des Moines residents, especially those with larger families, feeling frustrated.
“It doesn't necessarily take into account families with larger populations, like with a larger count in them,” Des Moines resident Josh Law said. “It doesn't differentiate that from people who are using water to water lawns.”
Des Moines Water Works encourages people to reach out to make sure everything is in working order, if they are concerned about their bills.
“If a household for inside usage is using more than 9,000 gallons, we encourage the customer to call us, because we'd like to work with them to make sure that they don't have a leak,” Kahler said.
Des Moines Water Works customers hope rising rites won’t become a trend year after year.
“I hope it's not a trend for the future,” Law said.
These changes won’t affect Des Moines Water Works’ industrial or commercial customers.
The new rates for residential customers will start on February 1.