Jan. 1 adjustment coming for Tempe water customers

Tempe residents will see a small increase next year in their water service rates – about $2.41 more per month, from $44.27 to $46.68, for a typical single-family household.
The increase is part of the city’s annual water rate adjustment process, designed to make sure each customer pays the appropriate share for the services they receive.
The Tempe City Council approved the rate adjustment, and the new rates will go into effect Jan. 1.
The adjustment allocates the costs of producing and delivering water among the city’s various water customer categories, which include single-family and multi-family residential customers as well as commercial, industrial and landscaping customers.
The rates are based on the volume of water consumed by each customer category and the cost to produce that water.
The council considered raising rates for both water and sewer services, but opted to increase only water rates, using some of the water fund balance to offset a sewer rate increase.
Tempe has performed annual cost-of-service rate studies since 2006, working with Red Oak Consulting, an industry leader in utility finances.
The study uses a complex model that looks at the most current financial information to identify the amount of revenue needed to operate the city’s water utility in the next fiscal year, as well as projections for the following nine years.
Tempe is transitioning from a long period of focusing on federally mandated water quality changes, specifically the Safe Drinking Water Act, to a phase of now focusing on maintaining and replacing aging infrastructure.
For more information, call 480-350-4311.