This year, increased water and wastewater rates will go into effect with the billing cycle that begins October 1, 2012. The increases for both water and wastewater are mainly due to debt service increases from Arlington's raw water and wastewater treatment providers. The debt service pays for projects that will bring additional water supplies to Arlington. It also helps maintain and improve the infrastructure utilized for raw water delivery and wastewater treatment.

The average residential customer in Arlington uses 10,000 gallons of water and 6,000 gallons of wastewater and will see a 66 cent increase or a 1.2 percent increase per month. Customers will see a 3 cent increase to the upper two tiers of the residential rate block structure. This means that customers using between 1,000 and 15,000 gallons of water will not see an increase in the per 1,000 gallon charge. The irrigation rate block will see a 3 cent increase for both tiers and the commercial rate block will see a 1 cent increase for water usage between 1,000 and 15,000 gallons of water and a 2 cent increase for water usage above 15,000 gallons. The charge per 1,000 gallons for wastewater will be $3.33, which is an increase of 11 cents this year.

A more detailed explanation of the rates will be included with your October water bill, and will be available on the city's website under Water Utilities. You can review the rates by category and see how it applies directly to you.

Conserving water helps us maintain adequate water supplies for the future and keeps the costs down for us all. For more information, please visit the Arlington Water Utilities conservation page: www.SaveArlingtonWater.com.