By Rick Rouan,The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Expect to be tapped for a little more cash in your water and sewer bills in 2017.
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The Columbus City Council will vote Nov. 21 on a proposal to raise water and sewer rates by 2.9 percent for Columbus and Franklin County customers next year. That amounts to about $31 more than the typical household paid for a year of water and sewer service in 2016.
Suburban customers and other areas served by Columbus water would see their typical bill rise by about $35 next year under the proposal.
City officials said increases this year and over the past decade have been needed to pay for construction projects.
“We have regulatory compliance issues that we have to meet particularly on the sanitary sewer side,” said Tracie Davies, director of the city’s Department of Public Utilities. “We have (water) plant improvements we’re doing.”
Columbus oversees the water system for much of the county, with most suburbs and Franklin County buying their water from the city. The city’s three water plants serve 22 communities through about 2,500 miles of water lines.
In Columbus, a typical household will pay about $1,072 for water and sewer service in 2016. That will rise to $1,103 in 2017.
Water bills for typical customers who live outside the city but are served by Columbus water will rise from $1,176 a year to $1,211.
The city offers a 20 percent discount on water and sewer bills for low-income households and the elderly.