The stormwater fee on El Paso water bills is increasing 13% beginning March 1.
The El Paso Public Service Board, which oversees the city’s water and stormwater utilities, Wednesday unanimously approved an increase of 74 cents per month for typical residential bills, which will raise the stormwater fee to $6.40 per month.
Typical small commercial customers’ bills will increase $4.17 per month and large commercial bills will increase $65.93 per month. The fees vary by a business location’s square footage.
The stormwater fee increase comes after the PSB in January approved increases i n sewer and water rates for the utility’s more than 221,000 residential and commercial customers.
The average El Paso Water residential bill will increase $3.54 per month, or a 4.7 percent increase, for a total average bill of $79.56 per month, with the approved fee and rate increases.
This is the ninth consecutive year that El Paso Water bills have increased.
John Balliew, El Paso Water chief executive officer, told PSB members that most of the stormwater fee increase is needed to help pay for $71 million worth of construction projects in the new fiscal year to improve the city’s stormwater system.