The city of Columbia is inviting residents to provide their perspective on proposed water rate structural changes, and the proposed 2026 city budget at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 4.
If approved, the new water rate structure will go into effect during the first billing cycle in October of this year.
City officials proposed a new water billing structure earlier this month that would revise how much each household pays depending on how much water it uses.
Currently, each month's water bill is based around either summer months or non-summer months. The winter average consumption, which is averaged out from the months of January, February and March of that year, is used to calculate the summer rates.
Right now, during summer months, a household is charged $3.22 per 100 cubic feet of water used up to 70% of its winter average consumption in Tier 1. In Tier 2, a household that uses 70%-170% of its winter average consumption is charged $4.44 per 100 cubic feet of water. In Tier 3, a household that uses more than 170% of its winter average consumption is charged $6.89 per 100 cubic feet of water.
These proposed changes eliminate the 70% winter average model and just bill each customer 100% of their winter average consumption.
In the new system through the whole year, a household would be charged $2.30 per 100 cubic feet of water up to 100% of its winter average consumption. In Tier 2, a household that uses 100%-200% of its winter average consumption is charged $6.33 per 100 cubic feet of water. In Tier 3, a household that uses more than 200% of its winter average consumption is charged $10.20 per 100 cubic feet of water.
The city says that the proposed change will bring a 12% increase in revenue. The proposed change would also increase the base charge for residents from $14.07 to $14.32 a month. However, the city said it expects water bill to decrease for customers with a consistent monthly usage, which it said is about 65% of residential customers.
