Bastrop water, sewer rates to increase Jan. 1
After some discussion this week the Bastrop City Council agreed to hike water and sewer rates 10.5 percent beginning with bills on Jan. 1. The added revenue will go to pay for a five-year, $2.5 million program to replace aging water and sewer mains in the city’s historic core, including downtown.
City Manager Mike Talbot said most of the lines slated for replacement date to at least 1929 and could fail at almost any time, perhaps plunging the city into a temporary crisis.
Council member Julie Hart had questioned why rates should increase immediately, in part because of high water sales and system revenues during 2008, an unusually dry year which prompted the city to call for water use restrictions earlier. The city water system produced a record volume of water during the year and promoted officials to begin an urgent search for new production wells in Bastrop west of the Colorado River.
Talbot said if the water fund has extra cash on hand, line replacement efforts could cover more of the system than originally forecast. The capital improvements program envisions spending roughly $500,000 a year for updated lines for each of the next five years.
Even with the current rate hike, Bastrop’s water and sewer charges remain competitive with those of neighboring cities in Central Texas, Talbot said.