Editor's Note: Find even more reporting on local water issues in this month's edition of InBuckeye Magazine.
Buckeye residents and businesses will soon see higher utility bills following Tuesday’s Buckeye City Council approval of new water and wastewater rate structures; the move comes after months of analysis and public outreach.
City officials say the increases are designed to keep pace with rising costs while avoiding sharp spikes, opting instead for a gradual, four-year rate adjustment plan.
"We're looking at some approach of a gradualism approach where we will incrementally raise rates to keep up with the cost of either inflation or just the cost of performing our service," said Terry Lowe, Buckeye’s Water Resources Director.
Modest increases for most residents
For the average household, the impact is expected to be relatively moderate, according to discussion at Tuesday’s meeting.
City estimates show a typical residential customer — using about 6,000 gallons of water and generating 4,000 gallons of wastewater per month — will see an overall increase of roughly 5% on their combined bill.
Water rates are expected to rise about 4% in the first year, with slightly higher increases in later years, while wastewater rates will increase at a faster pace overall.
Why rates are going up
- City staff pointed to several key factors driving the need for higher rates:
- Rising electricity costs, a major expense in water delivery
- Increased costs for treatment chemicals and materials
- Ongoing staffing and operational expenses
- The need for preventive maintenance and system upgrades
Officials also emphasized the importance of long-term investment, with a goal of reinvesting 2% to 5% of the system’s total asset value annually to maintain pipes, plants and other infrastructure.
Key Expense Drivers:
- Operational Expenses: Costs include personnel, electricity, chemicals, and both preventive and corrective maintenance.
- Asset Management: The city manages over a billion dollars in assets. While the industry standard is to reinvest 2-5% of asset value annually, the proposed rates will gradually work toward this level to fund less frequent, large-scale maintenance and replacement projects.
- Water Portfolio Development: A portion of the rates will fund the ongoing growth and diversification of the city's water portfolio to support long-term demands and maintain flexibility.
- Major acquisitions, like Harquahala, will be funded separately through bonding.
Push for fairness and conservation
A major component of the new rate structure is a shift toward what city leaders describe as a more equitable system.
Wastewater rates, in particular, will increase by about 7% overall, partly to better align what commercial users pay with how much they use the system. Historically, officials said, some business customers paid less than their proportional share.
The city is also expanding tiered pricing, meaning customers who use more water will pay higher rates per gallon at upper usage levels.
The steepest increases will apply to the highest tiers, a move intended to encourage conservation in a fast-growing desert community.
Businesses see wider range of impacts
While most homeowners will see modest increases, the impact on commercial customers will vary widely depending on usage.
- Smaller commercial users may see increases similar to residential customers
- Mid-sized users could see double-digit increases, largely tied to wastewater adjustments
- High-volume users may face increases approaching 30%, though that figure is significantly lower than earlier proposals that reached as high as 90%
Landscape irrigation and HOAs
Landscape water users, including homeowners associations, will see mixed impacts.
Lower-use irrigation accounts may see slight decreases, while high-volume users could see increases of around 8%. For large HOA communities, overall increases are expected to remain in the 3% to 5% range, assuming usage stays consistent.
Extensive public outreach
Before approving the changes, the city conducted a broad outreach campaign:
- About 66,000 customer notifications were sent through bill inserts and digital channels
- Emails and text alerts were issued through the billing system
- More than 300 public comments were received
Lowe said many residents appreciated the early notice and online tools that allowed them to estimate how the changes would affect their bills.
Implementation and next steps
The new rates are scheduled to take effect with the next billing cycle, beginning on the 4th of the upcoming month.
The city will review rates annually as part of the budget process, with future adjustments expected each January under the four-year plan.
City officials say the changes strike a balance between affordability and long-term sustainability.
Most residents will see manageable increases, while heavier users and some businesses will shoulder a larger share of the cost — part of a broader effort to promote conservation and ensure the water system can keep up with Buckeye’s rapid growth.
One Response
Some of us are on septic system ! Our waste water returns to the septic systems to be reused fir the system itself!
Why are we billed for waste water when we use that water to replenish our septic tanks !