Huntsville Utilities seeks 35% water rate hike; first increase since ’16

HUNTSVILLE — Life in the Huntsville area could be getting more expensive if a water rate increase proposed by Huntsville Utilities this week is put into effect.

The proposed 35% increase has some in the Rocket City and its surrounding areas concerned over the impact the potential increase could have on their personal finances.

Huntsville Utilities will present the proposal to the City Council at its Aug. 24 meeting. The Council must approve the rate hike.

Joe Gehrdes, director of community relations for Huntsville Utilities, said the need for the increase is related to the area’s rapidly increasing population.

“The growth, the high growth is fueling the need for more funding,” he said. “Our last incremental increase was in 2016, so its been 7-8 years since we’ve had any increase.”

Gehrdes also said that he doesn’t see the rate decreasing anytime soon.

“No, that doesn’t seem to be the way of things,” he said.

“We would love that but we are a cost-to-serve utility because we are a unit of local government and so if it could come down that would be fantastic, but we do not expect that.”

However, Gehrdes did give some positive news and discussed a plan Huntsville Utilities has developed.

He said Huntsville Utilities has the lowest residential water rates among regional water system across the state. And, if the rate increase is approved, Huntsville’s rates will be the third-lowest rates behind Decatur and Gadsden.

“This increase should keep us stable for the foreseeable future,” he said. “Something else that we’ve done that we will present on the 24th to the council is a 20-year master plan that helps us to get the financing in place for those projects.

“We assumed some things like our growth rate. If we continue on this 2-3% annual trajectory and, because we know how our water system works, we’ll be able to show the council and the public what we think we’ll need to spend money on. ”

Gehrdes believes said the increase will be an investment into the area’s future.

“Water is the most important thing we do,” he said. “It’s a life-sustaining resource and so we have to make this investment in the system for our customers and the community.”