The Toledo city council will hold a public hearing on July 12 for a proposed increase in the city’s water and sewer rates. At their June 14 meeting, the council received input from Public Works Superintendent Kendall Jordan regarding rising costs within the water and wastewater treatment industry including price increases for salt and chlorine and increased rates for shipping and labor fees when equipment needs repaired or replaced.

Jordan reported an estimated increase for salt to operate the city’s softener system to be around $3,000 in 2021, above the previous year.

The rate structure being considered would increase the city water and sewer per gallon rate by three percent in each of the next three years.

The council voted unanimously to have an ordinance drafted that would have the rate changes enacted beginning later this month. The council will hold the public hearing and will then take a final vote on the plan.

The proposed change would impact only the rate portion of the city water and sewer bills.

The service charges and the debt relief charges would remain the same.

Under the proposed plan, customers paying the minimum bill for water and sewer would see their bills increase by approximately $0.50 each year. The current minimum bill for Toledo water and sewer is $60.49. That would increase next year to $60.92 and by roughly $0.50 annually until 2023 when the ordinance would expire and the council would need to take up the issue again.

The current water rate for customers using 12,000 gallons a month or less is $7.08 per 1,000 gallons. If approved, the rate would increase to $7.29 for 2021, to $7.51 in 2022 and to $7.74 in 2023.

The current sewer rate for customers using 12,000 gallons a month or less is $7.49 per 1,000 gallons. If approved, the rate would increase to $7.71 for 2021, to $7.94 in 2022 and to $8.18 in 2023.

The debt relief lines within the city water and sewer bills are working to pay off city projects that built a new water plant and a new sewer plant within the past 15 years.

The debt for the Toledo sewer plant project is scheduled to be paid off in 2029 and the debt for the Toledo water plant project is scheduled to be paid off in 2035.

If approved, the plan would increase city water and sewer revenue by an estimated $30,000 each year.

Jordan said increased revenue would be put towards offsetting operation costs as well as a portion he hopes to save for capital improvement projects.

One issue Jordan hopes to address in the future is the aging valve system controlling Toledo’s water lines.

Several of the current valves are many decades old and have become inoperable.

If the city were to experience a large water main break, the entire system would need to shut down for the water flow to be controlled. Jordan hopes that with strategic placement of some new water valves, the city could control segments of the water system and lessen the overall impact on water customers if a large break were to occur.

Jordan also reported to the council the state of the wastewater system noting that the city pumps roughly 73 million gallons of fresh water per year, yet are having to treat nearly triple the amount through the sewer system.

He said the difference between the volume traveling through the two systems is mostly due to deteriorating sections of city sewer lines where ground water is able to seep into the pipes and get sent to the sewer plant for treatment.

The increased workload placed on the sewer system generally translates to increased sewer expenses as pumps and machinery within the system break down faster and require more frequent repairs or replacements.

Future projects within the sewer system would seek to locate where the worst portions of sewer line are positioned and either line or replace those sections in hopes cutting down the amount of infiltration the system experiences each year.