Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Water, sewer rates to be raised over next two years

Henderson residents will pay nearly $29 more a year for water and sewer service once new rates are implemented by the end of 2006.

The Henderson City Council approved tiered rate hikes Tuesday night. Henderson already has one of the highest water rates in the Las Vegas Valley, and is second to North Las Vegas in sewer rates it charges to residents. No one spoke out against the rate hikes.

The typical Henderson resident who uses 16,000 gallons a month now pays about $617 a year for water and sewer service. That same resident will see their combined bills increase 4.7 percent to $646 a year by November 2006, city officials said.

This marks Henderson's first rate increase since January 2003, city officials said.

Those Henderson households that use a lot of water will see even bigger increases as a way to encourage conservation.

"If someone has a big old yard with a whole bunch of grass and are still watering like they always have, they are going to pay," said Dennis Porter, Henderson's assistant director for utility services.

Henderson boosted by 13 percent over two years its top tier for its residential customers who use the most water. The city also reduced the threshold from 40,000 to 30,000 gallons a month in which that higher rate is triggered, officials said.

Henderson will increase sewer rates nearly $5 a year, starting in July, and nearly $5 a year more in July 2006. Water rates will increase nearly $19 a year. That increase won't take effect until November 2006 for the typical household using 16,000 gallons a year, officials said.

"The cost of the price of water has not gone up as much as other utilities,' said Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen. "We are not out of line."

Only North Las Vegas residents pay a higher annual bill at $652 for residents who use 16,000 gallons of water a month. Henderson residents pay about $25 more a year for water than North Las Vegas, but North Las Vegas residents pay steeper sewer bills.

David Bereskin, North Las Vegas's utility director, said household usage in his community is closer to 13,000 gallons a month and that would make the water and sewer bills even lower than in Henderson.

North Las Vegas is expected to take a step to reduce sewer bills when the City Council tonight considers issuing up to $140 million in bonds for a waste water treatment plant. Some 90 percent of North Las Vegas' waste is treated by Las Vegas, and building a plant should reduce residential sewer rates in North Las Vegas by about $60 a year in 2011, Bereskin said.

"That is the reason why we are moving forward with the construction," Bereskin said.

Based on residents using 16,000 gallons a month, Boulder City residents pay about $434 a year for water and sewer service. Residents in unincorporated Clark County pay about $530 a year while Las Vegas residents pay about $546 a year for water and sewer service, according to agencies that serve those cities.

Porter said Henderson's water and sewer rates are likely higher than some other agencies such as the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Clark County Water Reclamation District because they have "economies of scale" with their larger size.

Henderson hiked its water rates to pay for the higher costs of wholesale water provided by the Southern Nevada Water Authority that serves the Las Vegas Valley. Those rates have jumped 55 percent since 2002, and the city projects a 7 percent a year increase, Porter said.

"That is a significant budget hit in the millions of dollars," Porter said. "We weren't planning on the (Southern Nevada Water Authority) rates being that high. Hopefully, they will level out."

Without the new rate hikes, Henderson would have a $12.6 million-a-year deficit in its water and sewer funds, according to a city study. The city has drawn from its reserves to cover any deficits, Porter said.

Some commercial customers in Henderson will see their water rates increase 3 to 8 percent. To encourage conservation, Those who use more water will pay higher rates, Porter said.

The city's 12 private golf courses will take the biggest hit. Some courses that spend $300,000 a year for watering would pay about $100,000 more a year under the new rates, he said.

Instead of spending the extra money, golf courses are removing turf and replacing it with other landscaping and improving irrigation systems, Porter said.

With its new rates, Henderson officials are counting on cutting back residential usage by 4 percent a year and commercial usage by 1 percent a year. The city projects it will add 5,000 homes a year.

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