Austin area residents can expect to see decreased rates on their water bills beginning May 1. These rate reductions will affect all residential, commercial, multifamily, and large volume retail Austin Water customers.
These exciting rate reductions were announced last week in the Austin City Council meeting, where Council members voted to approve a mid-year water and wastewater rate decrease
Rate decreases are a result of Austin Water’s initiatives to restructure debt over the past few years, which allowed for a zero percent increase of rates in 2018 and now the mid-year rate decrease.
One reason this was made possible was through the use of Capital Recovery Fee revenues from developers who tap into the water system
“Affordability is very important,” said Greg Meszaros, Director, Austin Water, in a press release.
“The work that we’ve done to refinance and pay off our debt early helped us keep overall cost down and enabled us to pass along those savings to our rate payers.”
The average residential customer will see a $2.40 reduction to their monthly bill.
Some utility initiatives that kept rates from going up include:
- Reducing scheduled debt service expenses by over $70 million between 2016-2018
- Cost containment including a budget reduction of $30 million from 2014-2015
Here are some ways you, the customer, can help conserve water and keep your bill low:
- Practice good sense water conservation and follow local water regulations
- Use native plants in landscaping that will benefit from less watering
- Consider installing a smart irrigation system to control timing and zoning from anywhere in the world
- Replace worn or damaged sprinkler heads
- Get professional advice on irrigation control systems, landscaping, and your soil type
For more helpful conservation, irrigation, and irrigation repair tips, contact Smart Earth Sprinklers today at (512) 694-1147.
For more information about water and wastewater rates and more, visit austinwater.org.
