Queen Creek council opens 60-day notice to raise wastewater capacity fees; motion passes 5-0

Deputy Town Manager and Chief Financial Officer Scott McCarty told the Queen Creek Town Council on Oct. 25 that the meeting’s primary action was starting the process to increase the town’s wastewater capacity fees. "The agenda item for you tonight is the initiation of the process to increase our wastewater capacity fees," McCarty said, describing the proposal and the state-law process that triggers a 60‑day public comment period.

Nut graf: The council voted 5-0 to approve a 60‑day notice of intention to increase wastewater capacity fees, setting a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2025 and proposing an effective date of Jan. 5, 2026. Town staff and a consultant told council the change is driven by near-term demand that will require treatment-plant expansions and shifts in how the town attributes costs to multifamily housing and larger meter connections.

Officials said the town’s Greenfield Water Reclamation Plant (GWARP) currently has 4 million gallons per day (MGD) of capacity and plans to add 2 MGD, for a total of 6 MGD; the town also anticipates an additional east-side treatment facility in years nine and ten of the planning horizon. Utilities Director Mark Skocific said Queen Creek’s wastewater footprint roughly matches town boundaries and that flows move westward, creating reuse and recharge constraints that affect where future plants can be sited. "We have 4,000,000 gallons of capacity at the Greenfield Water…