Ripley utility board recommends 3% water and sewer rate increase; city council receives project updates

The Ripley Board of Mayor and Aldermen received and accepted the Ripley Gas, Water and Wastewater Board’s recommendation of a 3% rate increase for water and sewer services during the May meeting; the board approved receipt of the utility budget and heard project updates from utility staff.

Board members discussed the effect on a typical customer: the superintendent said the increase on a typical bill for 5,000 gallons of combined water and sewer is about $1.40 per month. A motion to approve the 3% increase was made and passed by roll-call vote at the meeting.

Utility staff briefed the board on ongoing and planned capital work: Phase 1 water-plant improvements near Wood Street were reported complete; Phase 2 will replace aging pipe from the 1970s and upsize a section from 10-inch to 12-inch to increase pressure and to loop a tie-in at Morgan Drive into industrial areas. The board also discussed a new force main—from the Komatsu lift station toward Cane Creek—amounting to roughly 4,600 feet of pipe and associated manholes; pre-construction meetings were pending.

Staff said they are pursuing funds to renovate lagoon aeration systems and to resume land application of biosolids (not done in about 15–16 years), and they are planning replacement of water meters within two to three years. An asset-management plan, including capital-improvement sequencing and cash-flow modeling requested by the Tennessee Comptroller, is due by the end of the year, staff said.

The board received the utilities’ FY2025 budget document (presentation only); no separate adoption vote of the utility budget was required by the city at this meeting.