Portlanders are poised to see their water and sewage costs rise about 6.34% this summer, marking the largest annual rate hike in more than a decade.
The combined monthly bill for both in a typical city household would increase to $160.29 starting in July, up from about $150.74 the previous fiscal year, budget documents reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.
That means the average Portland household would pay more than $1,900 annually, an amount that is currently projected to surpass $2,400 by 2030, according to city estimates.
However, the city’s forecasted annual rate increases over the next five years will likely climb even higher when officials adjust them this fall, Quisha Light, interim Water Bureau director, said during a presentation this week to the Portland City Council’s public works committee.
“We will be updating this rate profile, likely upward, to incorporate economic cost pressures driven by significant inflation and tariffs, ongoing citywide cost increases and any council actions impacting non-rate revenues,” Light said.
The full 12-member Portland City Council is scheduled to approve this year’s new utility rates next week.
The last time Portland residents saw a utility rate increase top 6.3% was 2011, when city officials issued an 8.17% hike, data reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows. At that time, the average Portland household paid just over $84 a month for water and sewer services — or about $1,000 a year.
A variety of factors are behind the creeping costs, city officials say: aging water and sewer systems that require maintenance; environmental compliance; and large new infrastructure projects, including the Bull Run water filtration plant whose price tag is now projected to top $2 billion — a four-fold increase from the $500 million first approved by City Council in 2017.
Those factors continue to put Portlanders on the hook for more money each year. An average Portland household paid nearly $500 less annually for water and sewage at the start of the pandemic than it will pay after the new utility rates kick in, budget documents show.
“We recognize that our customers are facing higher costs of living and that any utility rate increase can be a hardship,” said Water Bureau spokesperson Brandon Zero.
The city does offer utility assistance to medium- and low-income residents that can shave up to 80% off their monthly water and sewage bills. The program serves about 7,500 households a year, Zero said, a figure the city wants to eventually increase to 10,000.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.
Reach him at 503-294-7632
Email at [email protected]
Follow on X @shanedkavanaugh or on BlueSky @shanedkavanaugh
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