City Of Pflugerville: City Of Pflugerville Approves Wastewater Increase For Utility Districts

Press release from the City of Pflugerville:

10/12/2021 10:23 PM

At their October 12 meeting, Pflugerville City Council approved a wastewater rate increase for Kelly Lane Water Control and Improvement District (WCID), Lakeside WCID and Lakeside Municipal Utility District (MUD) 3. These districts include the neighborhoods of Avalon, Blackhawk (excluding Fairways and portions of Meadows), Commons at Rowe Lane, Estates of Rowe Lane and Reserve at Westcreek (see a map here). Customers in these districts currently pay a flat rate of $40 per month for wastewater, a rate that has not changed since these utility agreements were created in the early 2000s. As a result of City Council’s action, this rate will now increase to $56 per month.

When the City of Pflugerville hired NewGen Strategies and Solutions to conduct an analysis of the City’s water and wastewater rates for 2021, these WCIDs and MUDs were also included. That study found that starting in 2020, the cost of providing service to these customers exceeded the rates they were paying (see the chart below). If rates did not increase, City of Pflugerville wastewater customers would have to pay an average of $5.50 per month to subsidize the cost of service in these districts.

This rate adjustment is part of a two year effort by the City of Pflugerville to evaluate utility costs and ensure that current infrastructure could be maintained, along with increasing capacity. The $16 increase this year for Kelly Lane WCID, Lakeside WCID and Lakeside MUD 3 aligns the districts’ rate with City of Pflugerville residential wastewater rates, which have increased on average by $14.90 per month over the last two years.

City staff is working to reduce the cost of new infrastructure through low interest Texas Water Development Board grants, but the rate study found rates must increase now to pay for the City’s current and future utility needs. The City of Pflugerville is currently expanding its only wastewater plant from 5.3 MGD to 7.25 MGD and a second wastewater plant is in the design phase.

The next step will be for each district to individually adopt the new wastewater rate. For more details on all utility rates visit pflugervilletx.gov/utilityrates.

This press release was produced by the City of Pflugerville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.