Central Point City Council on Thursday will review a proposed water rate increase that would encourage water conservation among higher-volume users and help fund needed system improvements.

While water rates increase by small amounts annually, Public Works and Parks Director Matt Samitore said a recent analysis of the city water fund indicated that “a more substantial rate increase” was warranted this year.

The analysis considered revenue forecasts, inflation, growth and cost of service, plus an 8% increase to the cost of purchasing bulk water from the Medford Water Commission.

Samitore said a proposed monthly base rate increase — just under $5 for most residential users — would allow the city to maintain operations and level of service, replace cast-iron lines and reinforce waterlines beneath Interstate 5, as well as fund a number of planned projects.

One large project on the horizon — an additional water reservoir, bringing the city to three total — will need to be constructed in the next decade, likely between 2031 and 2034. It will likely cost about $7 million in today’s dollars.

“It’s never fun to have to raise our rates. We do an annual review of our water system and there have been several really big contributing factors this year,” Samitore said.

“The cost of water is going up every year — we’re a bulk water user from the Medford Water Commission. The cost of pipe has gone up. The cost of service lines has gone up 25% to 30%. Same thing with asphalt. Those are hard to adjust in any one year without sort of ripping the band-aid off. We’ve been doing these annual rate increases, but they just have not kept up with revenue versus cost.”

Samitore said increases are not proposed for water usage beyond the proposed base rate increase except in two instances: Residential users who exceed 100 cubic feet (748 gallons), and commercial and multifamily users who use more than 200 cubic feet (1,496 gallons), will see an additional usage increase beyond increased base rates.

Usage calculators show residential users would see an increase from $3.42 to $6.83 per cubic foot after surpassing 100 cubic feet of use. Commercial and multifamily users will see an increase from $1.93 per cubic feet (between 8 and 200 cubic feet) to $2.90 per cubic feet after exceeding the larger base amount.

Samitore said the new usage tiers for commercial customers affect about two dozen businesses in the city that make up about 1% of water users. Schools, religious institutions and public entities would be exempt. 

Samitore said the city had a new system in place that sends warnings to users who are “trending towards high water usage” and that smart water systems are being implemented in all city parks. A program will soon be introduced to encourage conservation measures such as smart meters, moisture meters for grass and drip irrigation systems.

“We want to get our water users thinking about the amount of water they’re using. For example, when users such as homeowners’ associations set up houses and landscape strips, it’s easy for them to put in turf, but it’s not the best way to use our water system,” Samitore said.

“We want to encourage users to think about shrub beds instead of grass, that kind of thing. … It’s a conservation measure we’re hoping that will make people more cognizant of their water use. And we’re not asking our water users to do anything that we’re not also willing to do as a municipality.”

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that 100 cubic feet of water equals 748 gallons.

Medford $16.65 (inside city)

Medford $23.16 (outside city limits)

Central Point $16.37

Eagle Point $18.11

Jacksonville $30.90

Phoenix $40.61

Talent $22.11

Grants Pass $24.12

Monthly base rates are calculated based on water meter size. Most residential and commercial users are connected to a 3/4-inch meter. Larger increases are proposed for higher-volume users.

For example, a residential customer with a standard 3/4-inch meter would pay an additional $4.63 with base rates increasing from $16.37 to $21. Commercial users with the same size meter would see a $4.45 increase with a base rate increase from $14.55 to $19.

Larger residential meters would see more of an increase., fFor example, 1-inch meter users would see a $6.57 base rate increase compared to an $18.20 increase for 3-inch meters. Larger commercial users would see an increase to base rates of between $5.82 increase for 1-inch meters and $212.54 for a 3-inch meter.

Samitore said the city doesn’t currently provide service to any meters larger than 2-inch.

Thursday’s City Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. at Central Point City Hall, 140 S. Third St.

Agenda info online.