Basin Water stalls on raising rates

The Basin Water and Sewer Board pumped the brakes on raising water and sewer rates as a result of higher than anticipated bids for a water system improvement project, nearly doubling the original amount of $790,000.

Board Treasurer DeDe Rhodes said the board agreed to postpone the rate changes to potentially receive more funding through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. According to Rhodes, the Basin Water and Sewer District Board could be eligible for up to $1 million, which would cover Triple Tree Engineering’s extensive project. 

“It’s absolutely necessary to do the whole project, and the [Department of Environmental Quality] and [the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation] are working with us to ensure that’s the case,” said Rhodes. “The money is there and available. We are just waiting to run the numbers and see how they work. We think it will fit within what we set for our water and sewer price increase, but we want to make sure before we go to the public.”