The Bloomington City Council approved a water rate increase of 22 percent Tuesday night. The increase will likely go into effect in late 2017, if the Indiana Utility Regulation Commission, or IURC, approves.
City of Bloomington Utilities Director Vic Kelson says they plan to submit their proposal to the IURC
"While it feels like a big step, if you look at that big step over the fact that we haven't raised them at all in the past 5 or 6 years, its really not as large an increase," Kelson says.
A 22 percent sewer rate increase was approved last month. It does not require approval from the IURC.
Kelson says that rate increase will help stabilize the finances of the utilities and also go toward capital investments like replacing a sewer near Switchyard Park.
"There are always things we need to fix, and there are always more things to fix than we have money to fix," Kelson says.
Kelson says the increased rates are not a result of the CBU's recent efforts to combat elevated levels of Disinfection By-Products in Bloomington's water, but it is possible that some of the money will go into that effort.