最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The price of turning on the tap in this city may be about to spike.

The city鈥檚 water chief told aldermen Monday he needs two 20% rate increases in the next fiscal year 鈥� one in July and one in January 鈥� to shore up a division struggling to manage rising costs and aging infrastructure.

The increases, which together would hike the average homeowner鈥檚 bill by roughly $10 per month, would be the largest in nearly three decades. But rates have been flat for a while, and the cost of keeping the water running keeps going up. Public Utilities Director said the department has been burning through reserves in recent years, and can鈥檛 keep up for much longer.

鈥淲e really need the money,鈥� he said.

The request alarmed aldermen in Monday鈥檚 budget hearing, most of whom weren鈥檛 on the board the last time the city raised rates. Several acknowledged the need to keep the water system in good repair. But board members were disturbed by the size and apparent suddenness of the proposal, and wondered why something wasn鈥檛 done years ago.

鈥淲e are literally at the last critical moment here, and that is a terrifying place to be,鈥� said Alderwoman Cara Spencer, the committee chair.

鈥淭his is almost like a knife to your neck,鈥� said Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, of Old North 最新杏吧原创.

Skouby said it鈥檚 been a long time coming.

最新杏吧原创鈥� water system is a bit of a modern marvel, transforming muddy water from nearby rivers into potable stock recognized as some of the best-tasting in the country and the basis for Budweiser. But it costs money.

The system is supposed to pay for itself by charging ratepayers enough to cover the cost of operations and upkeep. When it can鈥檛, the mayor and the board are supposed to step in and adjust rates.

But they don鈥檛 like to do it. The last time they obliged was in the late 2000s, another time when staff was telling them they had no choice: Big businesses like Anheuser-Busch were using less water and spending less money. Overall customer numbers were flat or declining. And the city was paying more for chemicals, piping and people.

City Hall raised rates 19% in fiscal year 2008, 11% in 2010 and 12% in 2011, bringing the average homeowner鈥檚 bill to $292 per year. And they were expected to do more the next year to keep from backsliding.

Instead, they stopped. And the troubling trends continued.

Black & Veatch, a consulting firm hired by the city to assess the division鈥檚 needs, called for additional rate increases three times from fiscal year 2013 to 2018. Each time, the recommended increases grew larger. And so did the estimated costs of important upgrades: The tab to replace distribution and transmission mains was $17 million in 2013. It was $70 million four years later. An estimate for upgrading a pump station at the Chain of Rocks treatment plant, in far north city, quintupled in just two years.

Alderman Antonio French, of the old 21st Ward, filed a bill calling for a rate increase in 2016, but it went nowhere.

There were also conversations about taking another run at it during Mayor Lyda Krewson鈥檚 tenure, but nothing came of them.

Now, Skouby said Monday, the pumps at the city鈥檚 treatment plants are 60 years old and failing. Other expensive needs are piling up, too: The main break that flooded sections of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) near Forest Park earlier this month will probably end up costing about $1 million all by itself, he said.

Aldermen in the committee hearing Monday lamented the situation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to swallow knowing there could have been a more gradual process,鈥� said Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, of far south city.

She also wondered why none of the city's $500 million federal pandemic aid haul went to the water division鈥檚 needs.

Skouby said his division asked. 鈥淭he city has a lot of needs,鈥� he said.

Alderwoman Pam Boyd, of the northwest side, asked if there was any way aldermen could increase rates in smaller increments and still address the need. The last consultant鈥檚 report, submitted in 2021, recommended four 4% increases from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2026.

But Skouby demurred.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in a hole,鈥� Skouby said. 鈥淭he percentages we鈥檙e asking for are just the basics to keep us operating.鈥�