Water bills surge From the cover
Pugerville
Two-minute impact
The secondary Colorado River raw water line will nearly double Pugerville’s raw water supply, the city said. The Wilbarger Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility will be able to treat 6 million gallons per day, and the Surface Water Treatment Plant Expansion will increase the plant’s capacity from 17 MGD to 30 MGD. Pugerville charges new developments the high- est impact fee allowed by the state, city ocials said, but additional funding for these projects is supported by water and wastewater rates.
City of Pugerville utilities customers saw increases in their water bills due to the planned base rate increases that will continue to take eect in phases over the next couple of years. These rate changes support the water infrastructure projects in progress. Three major ongoing projects amount to over $500 million of investment in the city’s water and wastewater system, including an additional water line and wastewater plant, as well as a surface plant expansion.
The cities of Pugerville and Hutto provide water and wastewater services to residents and businesses, along with a few additional providers. Crossroads has 10 water and wastewater service districts in Pugerville and Hutto and their extraterritorial jurisdictions. Manville Water Supply Corporation, Jonah Special Utility District and Windermere Utility Company also provide utility services to the cities and ETJs. Jonah SUD Public Information Coordinator Sarah Kitchen said the dierence in rates boils down to what it costs to obtain water and maintain the infrastructure system. “One of the reasons we’re able to keep our rates signicantly lower than a lot of areas around us is that we employ our own team in-house to do the construction,” Kitchen said. “Whereas someone like the city of Hutto—who does have a water system that they maintain—they don’t have those people on sta because they’re managing many other projects.” Residents aren’t able to pick their water provider; rather, it is determined by the geographic location of their home or business. Additionally, some of the providers only provide water services but also bill for wastewater services provided by the city. The groups of residents impacted by higher water bills include Hutto customers who have seen increases in their wastewater bills, Pugerville customers who have seen their water and wastewater base rates increase, and Crossroads customers who have reported suddenly higher water usage on their monthly bills. Pugerville and Hutto oer interactive utility maps to help determine which water provider serves a residential area. Both residents and nonresidents can enter their addresses to identify the correct service provider and nd relevant contact information.
Pugerville water rates
Base water rate for 5/8" meter sizes
Base wastewater rate for all meter sizes
$0 $20 $40 $60 $80
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26*
2021-22
SOURCE: CITY OF PFLUGERVILLECOMMUNITY IMPACT *PROJECTED
Hutto
level, we don’t know.” Hutto took over ownership and operations of the Jonah wastewater collection system in 2018. Last March, the city increased rates for Jonah customers to equalize all city-managed wastewater charges. The additional revenue partially helps fund the wastewater treatment plant expansion. “Customers are seeing a pretty dramatic increase on their monthly bill that they’re receiving, and they are not understanding that Jonah Water does not provide wastewater services; we bill for them,” Kitchen said.
Rates have also increased for customers in Hutto to fund water infrastructure. Most water projects are not rehabilitation but new infrastructure due to growth, Hutto Public Works Director Rick Coronado said. The South Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion began in August and will increase capacity from 2.5 MGD to 6 MGD. “It’s hard to go through a city’s growth without having to invest more in infrastructure needs,” Coronado said. “As the city grows, it’s anticipated that there’s going to be rate increases, but to what
Hutto water rates
All rates based on 5/8" and 3/4" meter sizes.
Find your water provider P ugerville area: https://tinyurl.com/26dcwt2z Hutto area: https://tinyurl.com/yckyvu52
Base water rate (within city limits)
Base wastewater rate (within city limits)
Base water rate (Hutto ETJ)
Base wastewater rate (Hutto ETJ)
$0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50
SOURCES: CITIES OF PFLUGERVILLE, HUTTOCOMMUNITY IMPACT
2024-25
2022-23
2023-24
SOURCE: CITY OF HUTTOCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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