The city's Department of Environmental Protection commissioner will propose a 7.5 % increase in the water rate Thursday, which will continue more than 15 years of rising rates if it's approved.
NYC Wants Immediate 7.5 Percent Water Rate Hike
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection commissioner will propose a 7.5 % increase in the water rate Thursday, which will continue more than 15 years of rising rates if it’s approved.
But the proposal is the first rate increase under 10% in five years and significantly less than this year’s 12.9% hike.
The average single-family homeowner’s annual water bill would increase $61, to $877 from $816, according to a department spokesman.
Many New Yorkers don’t receive water bills because they are sent to landlords who typically pass along increases in rent or maintenance fees.
Commissioner Cas Holloway will recommend the increase to the New York City Water Board. The board—appointed by the mayor—will hold public hearings and adopt a new rate in May.
Any new rate would go into effect on July 1.
City residents will continue to get a 2% discount if they pay by direct deposit and sign up for paperless billing.
The department attributes the increase to higher debt costs from massive construction projects, including the $3 billion Croton water-filtration plant in the Bronx and a $1.6 billion ultraviolet-disinfection facility for drinking water.
The city had expected the next increase to be 11.5%. Officials attributed the lower recommendation to budget cuts, which eliminated 214 positions, and increased water usage over the hot summer, among other things.
